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Florida Health Care Association Honors Long Term Care Professionals, Legislators

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Annual conference to highlight advocates of elder

More than 1,000 long term care providers from across Florida will attend the Florida Health Care Association (FHCA) Annual Conference to honor long term care professionals, recognize supportive legislators and provide specialized trainings to enhance the care of elders across the state. The conference, which will be held July 31 to August 4 at the Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, will be centered around the theme, “FHCA University.”
The conference will also honor a dozen legislators who demonstrated a deep commitment to elders and others who need the services of long term care centers by supporting key legislation. Recognized as 2017 Champions for the Elderly are Senate President Joe Negron of Palm City and Senators Rob Bradley of Orange Park, Anitere Flores of Miami, René Garcia of Hialeah and Kelli Stargel of Lakeland, as well as House Speaker Richard Corcoran of Lutz and Representatives Daisy Baez of Coral Gables, Travis Cummings of Orange Park, Shawn Harrison of Tampa, Alex Miller of Sarasota and Frank White of Pensacola.
“Florida is fortunate to have so many extraordinary supporters for our long term care residents and families, from the people who work in our care centers to the legislators who advocate on their behalf,” said Emmett Reed, FHCA executive director. “This conference is an opportunity to bring together so many people who tirelessly perform work that is challenging but so meaningful.”
Attendees will hear from inspirational speakers including Leigh Anne Tuohy, the mother at the heart of the book and film the Blind Side; former Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson, who serves as President and CEO of American Health Care Association; Kim Smoak, a bureau chief in the Division of Health Quality Assurance within the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration; and renowned international photographer Platon.
ABOUT FLORIDA HEALTH CARE ASSOCIATION
The Florida Health Care Association is a federation that serves almost 1,000 members and represents over 500 long term care centers that provide skilled nursing, post-acute and sub-acute care, short-term rehab, assisted living, and other services to the frail elderly and individuals with disabilities in Florida. The mission of FHCA is to advance the quality of services, image, professional development, and financial stability of its members. As Florida’s first and largest advocacy organization for long term care providers and the elderly they serve, the Association has worked diligently since 1954 to assist its members with continuously improving quality of care and quality of life for the state’s growing elder care population. For more information about Florida Health Care Association, visit www.fhca.org.

Insurance Commissioner Announces Agreements for 10-Year Long-Term Care Insurance Rate Guarantees by MetLife & Unum

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Florida Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier has made rate filing decisions on long-term care insurance products for Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (“MetLife”) and two subsidiaries of the Unum Group, Unum Life Insurance Company of America and Provident Life and Accident Insurance Company (“Unum”). These decisions reflect agreements by MetLife and Unum to give their policyholders guaranteed certainty about the cost of their long-term care insurance for the next 10 years. Rates approved by the Office will be phased-in by the insurance companies incrementally over an initial three-year period, with average monthly premium increases ranging from $4 to $44 for MetLife and $5 to $55 for Unum.
During the next seven year period, rates will be guaranteed, with no additional rate changes for affected policyholders. In addition to the rate guarantee, policyholders will also be given a range of benefit options to choose from in mitigating the rate increase. These include allowing the policyholder to accept a reduction or removal of the inflation factor, reduction in the daily benefit provided for in the policy or an increased elimination period. It also includes a non-forfeiture provision that allows policyholders who do not wish to make future premium payments to accept a paid-up policy with maximum benefits equal to the premiums they have already paid for in the policy.
At hearings held in August to receive public input about the proposed long term care rate increases, policyholders testified about the need to plan for insurance premium increases and to have certainty about future projected costs. This testimony and the hundreds of comments received from policyholders and others proved invaluable in structuring the rate guarantee and benefit options.
“The Office will continue to encourage other long term care insurers to approach rate needs in a similar fashion for the benefit of their policyholders, many of whom are on fixed incomes. This plan effectively balances the company’s need for rate increases against the impact that those increases have on policyholders who have invested in these products over a period of many years,” said Commissioner Altmaier.
The increases for MetLife and Unum will go into effect over the next year,  although the exact date may vary based on anniversary date and form number. The companies will send notices to the policyholders before the increases take effect, along with information outlining other benefit options they may choose to mitigate the increase. A summary of the Office’s approved rate changes are included as an exhibit in each company’s Consent Order, which can be found in the “Additional Information” section below.
For MetLife policyholders, the individual monthly premium impacts associated with the rate changes are listed below:
METLIFE 1.12.2017
For Unum policyholders, the individual monthly premium impacts associated with the rate changes are listed below:
UNUM 1.12.2017
Additional Information:
MetLife

  • Consent Order – includes an exhibit detailing the approved rate changes
  • List of policyholders by county
  • For policyholders who bought individual MetLife long-term care policies through agents, please call 1-888-565-3761. All others should call 1-800-438-6388.

Unum

  • Consent Order (Unum Life Insurance Company of America) – includes an exhibit detailing the approved rate changes
  • Consent Order (Provident Life and Accident Insurance Company) – includes an exhibit detailing the approved rate changes
  • List of policyholders by county
  • For policyholder questions, contact the Unum/Provident customer service number at 1-800-331-1538.

For general information about long-term insurance or the public hearings involving MetLife and Unum, visit the Office’s “Long-Term Care Public Hearings” webpage. These rate filings can be accessed via the I-File Forms & Rates Filing Search system by entering either the file log number (shown in the chart) or the name of the company in the “Quick Search” tab. Scroll down to the bottom of the results page for the most recent filing information.
About the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has primary responsibility for regulation, compliance and enforcement of statutes related to the business of insurance and the monitoring of industry markets. For more information about the Office, please visit www.floir.com or follow us on Twitter @FLOIR_comm and Facebook.