Speaker Q&A Directory

Long-Term Care Planning: Preparing for the CLASS Act
– A two-minute preview of what you'll hear at the Benefits Forum & Expo in Boca Raton, Fla.

The Community Living Assistance, Services, and Supports – or “CLASS” – Act becomes law January 1, 2011. The new law establishes a federally sponsored long-term care insurance program. Employers with 50 employees or more can sponsor the program in the workplace. Dan Cahn, senior vice president of Long Term Care Financial Partners in Kirkland, Wash., tells you how to prepare.

Q: Can you summarize the CLASS Act?

A: The CLASS Act is a federal long-term care entitlement program. It is overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services. It provides guaranteed-issue insurance to employed individuals, with no underwriting requirements. It has a five-year waiting period, so workers have to pay into it for five years before becoming eligible for benefits.

Q: What is the major impact of this new law on human resource departments?

A: The big news from a information systems standpoint is that employees at companies supporting the CLASS Act must be automatically enrolled in a payroll-deductible program. From a communications standpoint, chances are high that more employees are going to ask their employers about long-term care insurance.

Q: Is this an opportunity for employers or an added responsibility?

A: Employers are well positioned to bring up the subject of long-term care insurance, because it impacts the workplace. Fifty-three percent of caregivers today are full-time employees. The Mature Market Institute estimates employers lose $34 billion a year in productivity loss due to care-giving responsibilities.

Q: Is the insurance coverage under the CLASS Act a good deal?

A: We think it’s great the federal government is offering a long-term care benefit plan for every employee. But a healthy, married 50-year-old could probably do better in the private sector. The federal program is talking about paying $50 a day in benefits, but most long-term care expenses run three times that in metro areas.

Q: What do you recommend employers do?

A: First, realize this is not a “B” list benefit. It may be harder to explain than dental or vision, but long-term care insurance should be a top benefit priority for every employer. Second, educate employees on all of their options. Finally, realize that turnkey carriers and benefit brokers are there to do almost all of the work for you.

To learn more, please join us at the 5th Annual Benefits Forum & Expo, September 26-28, 2010 in Boca Raton, Fla. REGISTER TODAY!