Friday, August 11, 2006
Insurers banking on HSAs to breathe life into LTC insurance
[Lynn Gresham, "Hot market for voluntary medical benefits," Employee Benefit News, August 2006.]
Insurers have long been frustrated with the lack of interest from consumers in long-term care insurance. Part of this, of course, arises from incentives built into Medicaid, which offers relatively easy access to eligibility and coverage for LTC expenses. Insurers have not given up on LTC insurance, however, and hope that HSAs and consumer-driven health care will erode the entitlement mentality and apathy toward LTC costs that currently dominates the market:
One reason that insurers are sticking with LTC is that they are optimistic that health savings accounts will breathe life into moribund sales, since LTC and other voluntary product premiums can be paid with HSA funds.
"Carriers are hopeful that HSAs will have some positive impact on LTC sales, but it won't be gangbusters because employee interest is limited," Brazzell says.
[Kenneth Daniel, "Consumer directed health care growth," The Kansas City Kansan, 4 January 2006.]
Insurers have long been frustrated with the lack of interest from consumers in long-term care insurance. Part of this, of course, arises from incentives built into Medicaid, which offers relatively easy access to eligibility and coverage for LTC expenses. Insurers have not given up on LTC insurance, however, and hope that HSAs and consumer-driven health care will erode the entitlement mentality and apathy toward LTC costs that currently dominates the market:
One reason that insurers are sticking with LTC is that they are optimistic that health savings accounts will breathe life into moribund sales, since LTC and other voluntary product premiums can be paid with HSA funds.
"Carriers are hopeful that HSAs will have some positive impact on LTC sales, but it won't be gangbusters because employee interest is limited," Brazzell says.
[Kenneth Daniel, "Consumer directed health care growth," The Kansas City Kansan, 4 January 2006.]
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