End of Summer, Back to School, and the August BC Brokerage Newsletter!
ARE YOU HAVING THE LTC CONVERSATION WITH YOUR CLIENTS????
The LTC market continues to shrink as Washington residents near the one time opt out deadline for the state ran LTC program.
.58% income tax (no limit) to go towards state run LTC program.
Must hit 3/6 (yes, that's correct, 3!) Activities of Daily Living
Few other notes in regards to WA:
There is no employer-paid portion of the premium.
Employers are responsible for collecting, remitting, and reporting these premiums, and employers will face penalties if they do not.
The benefits offered under the WA Cares Fund are limited.
The WA Cares Fund premiums are uncapped, but there is a $36,500 lifetime cap, indexed for inflation, on the benefits an employee can receive, so highly compensated employees will help subsidize the program.
WA Cares benefits are available only if the employee receives care in Washington.
Employees can opt out of the WA Cares Fund only if they secure their own private long-term care insurance by Nov. 1, 2021, and they apply for and receive an exemption by Dec. 31, 2022
Many carriers have pulled out of the market, and some only allow single premium deposits as they are worried about policies lapsing.
Is California next for state ran LTC program?
"Existing law provides for the regulation of long-term care insurance by the Insurance Commissioner and prescribes various requirements and conditions governing the delivery of individual or group long-term care insurance in the state. Existing law establishes the California Partnership for Long-Term Care Program to link private long-term care insurance and health care service plan contracts that cover long-term care with the In-Home Supportive Services program and Medi-Cal and to provide Medi-Cal benefits to certain individuals who have income and resources above the eligibility levels for receipt of medical assistance, but who have purchased certified private long-term care insurance policies.
This bill would establish the Long Term Care Insurance Task Force in the Department of Insurance, chaired by the Insurance Commissioner or the commissioner’s designee, and composed of specified stakeholders and representatives of government agencies to examine the components necessary to design and implement a statewide long-term care insurance program. The bill would require the task force to recommend options for establishing this program and to comment on their respective degrees of feasibility in a report submitted to the commissioner, the Governor, and the Legislature by July 1, 2021. The bill would require the department to produce, no later than July 1, 2022, an actuarial report of those recommendations, to be shared with and approved by the task force. If approved, the bill would require the report to be submitted to the Legislature."
The conversation has already started in California. Read more of proposed bill here.
Check out our latest Fee-Only Spotlight Series with Brooklyn Brock of Ellevate Financial!
We updated our client fast fact!
We transferred our fast fact over to TypeForm's encrypted platform.
Check out how slick and easy the new fast fact is, and can be completed within 7 minutes!
Hey BC, what are some marketing tips this month?
Posting with purpose and value. This is what we always think of before we post or send anything out.
Do people know and recognize your name / brand?
Do they trust you?
Have you proven that you know what you are doing through content, case studies, testimonials, social proof?
Have you shown your personal side? Do people feel like they could easily call you to grab lunch or a beer?
People want to work with those that they KNOW, LIKE AND TRUST.
How can we be of service to you and your clients?
As we near the end of summer, your annual reviews and year end planning meetings will begin to pick up.
Whether you have annual client reviews or a new client onboarding, be sure to take advantage of our secure policy upload and analysis feature on our website.
Go to our website, bc-brokerage.com to start the process today.
We will return all policy analysis within 24 business hours
PO BOX 441032
Indianapolis, IN, 46244
765.730.7146