State’s new long-term care partnership wins approval by feds

The Washington State Health Care Authority, the Legislature,  Office of the Insurance Commissioner and the federal government have completed  changes in law, administrative rules and State Plan Amendments that will provide  some additional long-term care insurance options for individuals planning for their  future care needs.

Similar forms of the Washington State Long-Term Care Partnership, which was approved by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on December 27, have already been adopted by a number of other states as authorized in 2005 federal Deficit Reduction legislation. The partnership applies to services provided at home, in a community setting or in an institution.

It basically allows purchasers of private long-term care insurance to protect some assets in determining their eligibility for future Medicaid-funded long-term care services.  An additional benefit is that assets that have been protected under a qualified long-term care partnership policy will also be exempt from the State’s Estate Recovery provisions.  The object is to make private long-term care insurance more attractive and financially realistic
for middle-class families.

“The long-range object of this partnership is to increase individual responsibility for  long-term care and to ease the burden on Medicaid, which is currently the state’s largest purchaser of long-term care services,” said Doug Porter, Director of the State Health Care Authority. “As our population continues to age and we deal with the state’s fiscal crisis, we have to realize that the current trend in these costs is not sustainable.”

Long-term care services in Medicaid are currently provided through the Aging and Disability Services Administration (ADSA) of the Department of Social and Health Services.  The Health Care Authority – designated in mid-2011 as the state’s Medicaid agency – and ADSA are collaborating on the partnership.  Information for consumers on how the new program works with Medicaid eligibility is available at
http://www.dshs.wa.gov/manuals/eaz/sections/LongTermCare/LTCpartnership.shtml

MaryAnne Lindeblad, Assistant DSHS Secretary for Aging and Disability Services Administration, said the partnership is the culmination of years of planning.

“This is the kind of step that keeps us aligned with the spirit of federal health care reform and helps us preserve options that otherwise will not be available to use as we continue to move forward.”

Another key member of the partnership is the Office of the Insurance Commissioner, which estimates insurers will have policies available for sale to private consumers and group policyholders early this year.

The new regulations also allow individuals who have already purchased a long-term care policy to upgrade to one of the new partnership policies as long as certain conditions are met.  More information is available on the OIC website at:  http://www.insurance.wa.gov/consumers/longterm_care/long-term-care-partnership.shtml

People with an interest in long-term care insurance should check with their existing insurance company or agents and brokers to see what additional benefits are being offered.