Addressing the Long-Term Care Insurance Crisis

February 18, 2025


We are dealing with a long-term care insurance and affordability crisis across the state. Companies are pricing out thousands of individuals out of their plans after they paid into them for decades. Some people are forced to drop benefits to save money resulting in not being able to take advantage of the benefits they paid into for so long.

I authored House Bill 5328 to protect long-term care policyholders by limiting premium increases. The proposal would:

  • Prohibit insurers from requesting premium hikes that exceed the annual average Consumer Price Index for urban consumers for policies held for 15 years or more.
  • Cap all premium increases at 5%.
  • Require insurers requesting increases of 20% or more to spread the increase over at least five years.

I also testified in support of House Bill 1269, which includes several measures to protect long-term care policyholders and improve transparency. The proposal, in part, requires the Insurance Department to study the creation of an alternative pool for those policyholders. It also ensures that individuals are notified of the risk of premium increases before purchasing a policy. The bill would also introduce a tax credit for individuals who buy long-term care policies.

Click on the video below to listen to my remarks before the Insurance and Real Estate Committee.
This proposal would ensure fairer and more predictable
costs for long-term care insurance policyholders.

This legislation is spurred by the experience of too many constituents, one of whom received a 73% increase over a three-year period. The CT Mirror published an in-depth article exploring the issue and highlighted the stories of Connecticut residents dealing with rising costs. The CT Mirror’s investigation revealed that, from January 2019 to October 2024, more than 17,000 people with long-term care policies have received increases of 50% or more.

By implementing these changes, we can provide individual and families with greater confidence in their long-term care coverage and protect them from unreasonable costs. These bills are necessary to support those who rely on these policies when they need it most.