Timely coverage for an aging staff

General Article
January 16, 2003

Insurance for long-term care will begin this spring, with open enrollment - and guaranteed acceptance - through Feb. 28

By CLAY EALS

As a cancer-research center matures, so do its faculty and staff - and so do their thoughts about care beyond the doctor bills in life's final years.

To keep pace with that thinking, Fred Hutchinson is launching voluntary insurance for long-term care that begins April 1.

The insurance, by the CNA firm, will be available to spouses, domestic partners, parents, grandparents and in-laws as well as faculty and staff of both the center and the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.

Open enrollment, during which faculty and staff are guaranteed approval, runs through Friday, Feb. 28. Information sessions are set for Jan. 22, 23, 29 and 30 (see box at right).

Jonathan Sheppard, compensation and benefits manager, said the Employee Advisory Committee has studied long-term care and potential insurance plans since January 2002.

Human Resources asked the committee to review insurance for long-term care after several faculty and staff who had dealt with their aging parents' non-medical care urged the department to consider it.

Sheppard sees trends that will make such insurance practical and popular at Fred Hutchinson.

Older boomers

"We're a more mobile society, and a lot of us who are here now weren't born here, so the way that people were cared for in the past aren't as prevalent or viable," he said. "That hasn't changed overnight, but as the boomers are getting older, we're not looking for our kids to take care of us. And as a society, we're living longer, so more of us will be in a situation where we need care than in the past."

Fortunately, Sheppard said, providers' plans for long-term care have matured in recent years.

"The insurance products have become better and cover more things than they did five or 10 years ago," he said. "They're not just covering nursing homes, but they're also covering community-based care and pieces of at-home care.

"The plans are better values for people and more consistent with the type of care that they want."

Gradually, the average age of faculty and staff of Fred Hutchinson, in the middle of its 28th year, is rising, making long-term care an increasingly potent concern, Sheppard said.

"For every chronological year, we get about a quarter year older," he said, "so as a Hutch population, we've been aging with the rest of society, and many of us are in the situation where we're beginning to need to care for our parents or make provisions for them. Naturally, people want to plan ahead, and not just for their parents, but also for themselves."

Faculty and staff eligible for benefits can enroll in the new plan, which offers competitive group rates and is portable, meaning that the coverage can continue, as long as premiums are paid, even after enrollees are no longer employed by the center or Alliance.

When payments kick in

Insurance for long-term care pays for services if, due to a chronic illness or cognitive impairment, the person covered cannot perform two activities of daily living: bathing, continence, dressing, eating, toileting or moving into or out of a bed or wheelchair. These services can be provided in a private home, nursing home or adult-daycare center.

In consultation with Sheppard, Employee Advisory Committee members Julie Bittner, Leslie Cottle, Georgia Green, Dianne Koehnen, Ruth Ross and Rosemarie Labonite selected the CNA plan among proposals from major providers.

The CNA plan provided the best group coverage options and competitive rates, Sheppard said, and CNA has a solid reputation as a leader in the long-term care insurance market.

Faculty and staff can enroll for the insurance through Feb. 28 and are guaranteed approval for coverage that starts April 1.

Those who enroll after Feb. 28 will be subject to a medical-underwriting process in which applicants answer questions about their medical history to determine proof of good health and "evidence of insurability."

Monthly premiums, which can be paid via payroll deduction, vary based on age and coverage level. For example, an entry-level policy costs about $9 per month for a 40-year-old vs. $50 per month for the same policy for a 65-year-old.

The CNA insurance offers $100, $150 and $200 daily maximum benefits and a two-year or five-year lifetime maximum.

To get an enrollment packet, call Human Resources at 206-667-4700.

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