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* Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program May 2009

FLTCIP * New Contract. * Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program May 2009. Today’s Topics. FLTCIP History Contract Award FLTCIP is Strengthened New Plan Design Premium Increase Landing Spots Premiums for New Plan Design Transition Our Customers. FLTCIP History. Began in 2002

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* Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program May 2009

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  1. FLTCIP*NewContract *Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program May 2009

  2. Today’s Topics • FLTCIP History • Contract Award • FLTCIP is Strengthened • New Plan Design • Premium Increase • Landing Spots • Premiums for New Plan Design • Transition • Our Customers

  3. FLTCIP History • Began in 2002 • One Open Season held in July – December 2002 • Since then, continuously open with full underwriting; new employees and spouses have 60 days to apply with abbreviated underwriting • Eligible to apply (with underwriting): • Federal and U.S. Postal Service employees, annuitants and compensationers • Active and retired members of the uniformed services • Spouses and adult children of all groups; parents, parents-in-law, and stepparents of employee groups • About 224,000 current enrollees • Insurance provided by John Hancock Insurance Company and Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (administered by Long Term Care Partners) • Present consortium being dissolved

  4. Contract Award • Request for Proposals (RFP) issued August 25, 2008 • OPM chose John Hancock Life & Health Insurance Company as sole insurer for FLTCIP’s second 7-year contract term • Original 7-year contract expired April 30, 2009 • OPM extended current contract for up to 10 months to allow for an orderly transition • Long Term Care Partners continues as administrator

  5. FLTCIP is Strengthened Updated pricing that better reflects current projected experience and improves premium sustainability Improved overall FLTCIP funded status New plan design features that offer more choices and greater coverage

  6. New Plan Design - Features • Enhancements to several benefits • Elimination of a few less popular features • New benefit options anticipated to be available for new applicants sometime this Fall • Current benefit plan will be discontinued for new applicants • Current enrollees will also have the opportunity this Fall to change to the new benefit options

  7. New Plan Design – Benefit Changes

  8. New Plan Design – Benefit Changes

  9. Premium Increase • Premium increase of up to 25% for current enrollees with Automatic Compound Inflation (ACI) feature • Amount of increase depends on age at purchase • No premium increase for enrollees who purchased at age 70 or above • No premium increase for current enrollees with Future Purchase Option • Current enrollees will receive options to avoid premium increase • Current enrollees will have sufficient time to weigh options and make decisions before increases take effect

  10. Premium Increase - Current Enrollees*Effective on/about 1/1/10 *There will be “landing spots” so current enrollees can avoid these premium increases, by changing their current benefits.

  11. Premium Increase • FLTCIP faced projected funding shortfall for current enrollees • We must ensure premiums reflect cost of benefits provided, as required by FLTCIP law • Actual and projected Program experience differs from assumptions used when original premiums were set • Projections of funded status are extremely sensitive to certain assumptions about future program experience, such as enrollee persistency and investment return • OPM used actuarial consultant to independently price FLTCIP products and assist with price evaluation of offers received. Consultant confirmed premium increase is necessary and appropriate.

  12. Premium Increase • First premium increase since Program began seven years ago • Consistent with increases in other public sector long term care insurance programs and long term care insurance industry as a whole • Most LTC insurance carriers have either implemented or announced premium increases in last few years • No plans today to change premiums again, either during this contract term or in 2016 after next contract term begins • Premium rates may change in the future if necessary to reflect the cost of benefits provided • We will continually monitor program experience to ensure premium value and adequacy

  13. Premium Increase Why ACI Enrollees but not FPO Enrollees • Enrollees with automatic compound inflation (ACI) option receive 5% compounded increase in benefits each year, but premiums do not go up because of that benefit increase  • ACI enrollees pre-fund their future benefit increases • Changes in assumptions have a particularly acute effect on amount of funds needed in advance to support expected level of future benefits  • FPO premiums are designed to increase every 2 years along with increase in benefits • Because FPO benefit does not require same degree of pre-funding, the premium increase does not apply to enrollees with FPO 

  14. “Landing Spots” Current enrollees will be given the opportunity to choose to keep premium approximately the same as they pay now by changing their current benefits OPM is currently negotiating specifics with John Hancock Possibilities may include changes in Daily Benefit Amount and/or rate of inflation increases

  15. Premiums for New Plan Design Pricing for new plan design is consistent with the revised pricing for the current plan Premiums for new plan design are higher than the revised premiums for the current plan due to benefit enhancements

  16. Transition • John Hancock will send current enrollees personalized information this Fall that details choices: • Keep current benefits, subject to rate increases that may apply; • Keep premiums approximately the same as they pay now by making changes to current benefits; and/or • Take advantage of one-time opportunity to switch to new benefit options without underwriting • Effective on/about January 1, 2010: • Premium increases for enrollees with ACI who purchased under age 70 and choose to keep their current benefits • Benefit changes

  17. Our Customers Are Talking • Upset about the premium increases • Mistakenly believe we guaranteed rates under the first contract and we are breaking our promises to them • Misunderstanding about what “level for life” means for automatic compound inflation • Emailing, calling, commenting on the Web to voice their displeasure

  18. We Are Listening • We did not expect a future premium increase when the program began so we did not emphasize that possibility in the educational materials • Posting Frequently Asked Questions • Staffing call center for complaints/questions • Answering questions and meeting with the media, NARFE, unions • Working with John Hancock on a mailing soon to current enrollees to explain what’s happening and outline the schedule of events • Rewriting program materials

  19. Questions?

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