Hiking

Earlier blog posts have noted that CalPERS‘ premiums for long-term care are going nowhere but up.  Another rate hike is being announced with an option instead to move to a lesser-value plan.

UC employees and faculty are normally not covered by CalPERS’ pension and health care plans.  However, as state workers, they were offered the chance to enroll in CalPERS’ long-term care program when CalPERS got into that business.  Unfortunately, there was no guarantee concerning what the premiums would be over time.  From the Sacramento Bee‘s State Worker blog:

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System today is mailing some 150,000 official notices to long-term care insurance policyholders that a rate hike is coming. The letter explains that CalPERS is raising premiums 5 percent this year on the plan’s costliest policies, which offer lifetime coverage and daily benefit payouts that keep up with inflation.Policyholders can avoid the premium increases by moving into plans that offer up to 10 years of benefits without automatically inflation-adjusted coverage. The deadline to opt into another plan varies by policyholder. CalPERS’ letter also flags a 5 percent increase planned for 2014 and another 85 percent jump in 2015 spread over two years. All the rate hikes apply to policies offering inflation-protected, lifetime coverage for things like nursing home services and in-home care…

Full story at http://blogs.sacbee.com/the_state_worker/2013/04/calpers-letters-detail-long-term-care-rate-hikes-options.html

Seems like they are asking too much for too little and doing it too late:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IM39yIKoSo4?feature=player_detailpage]
Update: Legislative hearings on CalPERS long-term care are now scheduled:
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/05/02/5388222/the-state-worker-committee-calls.html