Group Long Term Care Insurance Gains Favor As Options Increase

LOS ANGELES, April 29, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- An increasing number of small businesses are investigating long term care insurance as an employee benefit or as a tax-favored benefit for owners according to a just-published report.

"Interest in long term care insurance is growing again especially among firms with 20-to-99 employees," reports Jesse Slome, director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI) a national trade group. There are five million companies with that many employees according to the latest U.S. census data.  They account for over 20 million workers.

According to AALTCI, many insurers offer discounts to group enrollees compared to standard plans available to individuals.  "Today, there is enormous flexibility in terms of benefit options as well as who is offered coverage," Slome notes.  "Plans can be offered on a voluntary basis paid by payroll deduction or the employer may contribute a nominal amount.  It may even be possible to offer company-paid coverage exclusively for executives and key employees."

Long Term Care Insurance Plans Not Regulated By Obamacare

"Long term care insurance plans are not regulated under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) so employers have a great deal of flexibility," explains George Mellendorf, president of LTC Solutions, a national distributor of individual and multi-life long term care insurance headquartered in Cape Coral, FL.   "Even small groups with as few as 10 employees can qualify for simplified health underwriting and pricing discounts that can reduce costs by between five and 10 percent annually."

The AALTCI analysis of 8,000 employer plans sold in the past few years found that 21 percent of participants were less than 54 years of age with four percent of buyers age 44 or younger.  "Participants in employer-sponsored plans tend to be younger and nearly 40 percent had incomes under $75,000," Slome notes.  "That is an important trend and we foresee continued growth of sales to buyers within small groups in the years ahead", explains Tim Kneeland, President of Transamerica Long Term Care, a leading provider of long term care policies within small groups. 

Individuals or small employer groups interested in learning more or seeking long term care insurance costs can contact the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance by calling 818-597-3227 or visiting the organization's website where free access to five long term care insurance consumer guides is available.

SOURCE American Association for Long Term Care Insurance