Calling it the start of a “conversation,” legislators on the Aging Committee voted to pass a bill that would boost transparency around long-term care insurance rate increases and offer consumer protections. The amended bill would require the state Department of Insurance to hold a public hea ring when insurers’ rate hike requests exceed 10% and notify lawmakers at least 14 days in advance of a hearing. It also would require insurance companies to warn consumers about the risk of premium increases prior to the purchase of long-term care coverage. Legislators erased a provision from an earlier version of the bill that would have provided a tax deduction to policyholders. Residents who testified before the committee in February urged its members to eliminate the provision because the high cost of the tax deduction caused a similar proposal last year to be shelved. This year’s measure now heads to the Insurance and Real Estate Committee for consideration. “We want to open the conversation,” said Rep. Mitch Bolinsky, R-Newtown. The bill “has actually been neutralized so we can have a good beginning conversation with the Insurance Committee and hopefully move this forward.” “I do agree [about] the rate increases,” added Rep. Jay Case, R-Winchester. “I have a family member who has long-term care insurance, and it’s not fair. It’s not right.” Rep. Jane Garibay, a Windsor Democrat who is co-chair of the Aging Committee, said she’s heard a lot of concerns about soaring premium hikes. “This session and in the past year, anything I’ve heard from my personal constituents has been about their long-term care insurance,” she said. “We can’t stop trying for something we believe will help the people of Connecticut.” Garibay recalled one constituent whose monthly payments went from $85.50 when the policy was opened in 1994 to $838.46 today. “So, for 30 years, give or take, she has been paying into this plan, and she’s at the point now of having to decide, ‘Can I continue to pay this, or do I lose it all?’” Garibay said. “And that’s only one story.” Nearly 100,000 people in Connecticut have long-term care insurance — coverage that, depending on the policy, supports skilled in-home care, rehabilitation therapy, assisted living, nursing home stays and respite care. A 2025 Connecticut Mirror investigation found that the annual cost of maintaining long-term care coverage has skyrocketed for many residents due to miscalculations by insurers on how long people would live, the price of care and how many would need it. Policyholders complained of dramatic rate increases, often exceeding 50% and, for a few dozen people, as high as 174%, according to a CT Mirror analysis. A review of rate hikes from January 2019 to October 2024 showed that more than 17,000 people with long-term care policies have gotten hit with increases of 50% or more. Some of the biggest companies in the market, including Genworth Financial, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and Transamerica Life Insurance Company, requested hikes for five years in a row beginning in 2019. When large providers seek premium increases, thousands of consumers can be affected. In 2019, for example, Genworth Financial requested a 40% rate hike on more than 9,000 Connecticut policyholders. In 2021, Transamerica requested a 20% rate increase on 8,000 policies. The insurance department approved both requests with no changes. In 2022, Genworth raised rates for more than 2,000 people by an average of 97%, with increases ranging from 79% to 173%, depending on the policy. The approved amounts were a slight reduction from the company’s original request. Last year, lawmakers introduced more than a dozen bills seeking to reform long-term care insurance, including five broad committee proposals. One measure passed unanimously in the Senate but died in the House after industry lobbyists voiced strong opposition. At a public hearing last month, residents asked legislators to adopt meaningful reform that offers protections from large premium hikes. “Connecticut LTCI policyholders — mostly seniors — need legislators who will stand up to the LTCI industry, their lobbyists, and the Connecticut Insurance Department. We need legislators who will serve the interests of the Connecticut voters, not special interests,” said David Schwartzer, 71, of Newington. Amelia Smith, of Windsor, said ballooning rate increases have made payments on her policy unmanageable. “I bought this policy to protect myself in my later years, and now I cannot afford it,” she said. “I used to travel to California to visit my son, family and friends, but I can no longer do this. Fortunately, I’m lucky enough that they come to visit me. But my utility bills, like anyone else’s, are going up, and believe me, I get cold in the winter.” Members of the Aging Committee have said their proposal is meant to create momentum on the issue. They are hoping to pass some reforms this session and broader changes next year. “We have a really serious problem, and it’s one the legislature hasn’t done a particularly robust job at addressing, because it involves some really, really tough decisions,” Bolinsky said last month. Sen. Jorge Cabrera, D-Hamden, co-chair of the Insurance and Real Estate Committee, said he’s open to a conversation on the bill. “It’s a difficult thing, so I am more than open to hearing possible solutions,” he said. “At the very least, transparency is really important for people to know what they’re getting into when they buy the product. “One of the frustrations I’ve heard many times in speaking to people who have these policies is the surprise element — getting a letter showing that your annual premium is going up by double digits. Those kinds of things shock people. Any more transparency or communication as to what people are getting into when they buy these products, I think, is very important.” ...read more read less