Rep. Van Hollen Testimony at Hearing on Drastic Premium Hikes for Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program
Today
"Today, I want to give a voice to the hundreds of Marylanders in my district who are facing outrageous premium hikes without any warning. We must take action to reform this program so that we can protect working Americans from future spikes in premiums and improve the
The full text of his testimony is below:
"Chairman Meadows, Ranking Member Connolly, and Subcommittee Members, thank you for your response to my request for a hearing on the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP). Today, I want to give a voice to the hundreds of Marylanders in my district who are facing outrageous premium hikes without any warning. We must take action to reform this program so that we can protect working Americans from future spikes in premiums and improve the
"As you know, in
"The FLTCIP, created in 2002, was designed to provide stable and affordable long-term care insurance to federal employees and retirees. In fact, a 2002 brochure provided by OPM stated that "premiums have been set to remain constant for life, unless you increase benefits. Your premiums can change only with OPM's approval and only on a group, not an individual, basis." Several enrollees purchased coverage based off of flawed actuarial predictions. It is alarming that this is the second contract cycle in which enrollees have faced an enormous increase in their rates. While actuarial predictions are never certain, there need to be additional oversight procedures to ensure that future projections are sound.
"I have heard from hundreds of my constituents facing the outrageous premium spikes. They are angry and scared - many experiencing the maximum premium increase of 126 percent. Enrollees were blindsided, as OPM failed to inform enrollees until just before the start of the 11-week open enrollment period and did not give adequate justification for the increases. Along with my colleagues Congressmen Connolly and Beyer, I urged OPM to provide an extension of the open enrollment period while holding enrollees harmless to allow individuals more time to make their decision. This request was not granted.
"One of my constituents who wrote to me after this contract was announced is a single retiree living on a fixed income. Her cost-of-living adjustment for next year barely increased but her FLTCIP premiums increased 126 percent. Since she is no longer able to afford her FLTCIP, she was forced to drop her plan - losing the money she spent paying into the program over the past 14 years. Another constituent's monthly premiums increased from
"It is deeply concerning that federal employees and retirees have been faced with such shocking premium hikes without adequate notice or justification. I appreciate the Subcommittee's commitment to examine this urgent issue and look forward to working with all of you to examine the structure of FLTCIP and OPM's oversight of the program to provide clarity on the contracting process and the actuarial estimates to prevent unexpected premium spikes in the future."
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