The 2nd meeting of the Subcommittee on Insurance and Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs of the Special Advisory Commission of Senior Citizens was held on Thursday, November 1, 2007, at 2:30 PM, at the Capital Plaza Hotel, in Ballrooms 3 & 4. Ed Flanagan, Chair, Subcommittee on Insurance and Bill Harned, Chair, Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, called the meeting to order, and the secretary called the roll.
Present were:
Subcommittee on Insurance Members: Ed Flanagan, Chair; Ruth Bryant, Leon Dodge, Marsha Dufeck, James Frazier, Jane Fugate, Barbara Germain, Denver Moore, Clarence Richardson, John Searcy, Clayton Shannon, Jim Terrell, and Ken Willis.
Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs Members: Bill Harned, Chair; Aaron Cardwell, Finnell Fields, Gloria Hall, Frank Hatfield, Faye Hensley, Jim Heth, Lee King, Stanley Ramey, Claude Tiller, and Joan Veazey.
Guests: Julie McPeak, Executive Director, DJ Wasson, Executive Staff Assistant and Jay Thompson, Office of Insurance, Representative Tommy Thompson and Representative Jeff Greer.
LRC Staff: Rhonda Franklin, Adanna Hydes and Jamie Griffin.
The minutes of the May 10, 2007, Subcommittee on Insurance and Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs were approved.
Consumer Affairs Chairman Harned stated that the representatives of the Office of Insurance would be addressing the marketing of insurance products to seniors and the availability of information from the Office of Insurance to assist consumers.
Julie McPeak, Executive Director, Office of Insurance, stated that the Office of Insurance is looking at all marketing concepts in regard to product choice and helping consumers when buying insurance products. She stated that Administrative Regulations have been approved and will go into effect next week, that will deal with a number of the concerns expressed and she stated that through her membership in national associations that work is also being done on the national level to protect and educate consumers. She stated that the Office of Insurance has a toll free number and staff available to consumers with questions regarding any insurance product sold in the state of Kentucky.
Representative Tommy Thompson, stated that disclosure is very important as well as consumer access to information regarding insurance products. He stated that he will be in support of legislation to tighten regulations and statutes to protect and educate consumers.
Representative Jeff Greer, stated that he has been an insurance agent for 18 years and is aware that there is good and bad in the insurance industry. He stated that he is going to support legislation to protect and educate the senior citizens of this state.
Insurance Chairman Flanagan, asked that the price increases in long-term care insurance policies be addressed. He asked the guest panel their opinion on the Attorney General's Office reviewing the rate filings for the long-term care insurance.
Rep. Jeff Greer stated that people are living longer and the increases also reflect inflation in healthcare. He stated that when buying these products it is best to deal with someone you know and trust.
Julie McPeak stated that the Office of Insurance does not have a problem with the Attorney General's Office reviewing the rate filings for long-term care insurance, but she feels that the administrative cost of the review would be reflected in the rates. She stated that the Office of Insurance publishes a buyer's guide for all lines of insurance and is available at all public libraries in Kentucky.
Representative Thompson and Representative Greer stated that they would be supporting legislation that has been pre-filed for the 2008 Regular Session by Rep. Montell that deals with long-term care insurance.
The joint meeting adjourned.
The joint meeting of the Subcommittee on Insurance and Subcommittee on Consumer affairs reconvened on November 2, 2007. The subcommittee's adopted the following recommendations to be presented to the 2008 General Assembly:
Subcommittee on Insurance
1) That the General Assembly increase state funding for Area Agencies on Aging to support Senior Programs by at least 20 percent for each year of the 2008-10 biennium.
2) To require long-term care insurance carriers to submit rate increases to the Attorney General, as well as the Office of Insurance, to allow intervention by the Attorney General as needed.
3) Recommend that the General Assembly enact 2008 BR324 to create the “Kentucky Long-Term Care Partnership Insurance Program”.
SUBCOMMITTEE ON CONSUMER AFFAIRS
The Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs reaffirms the recommendations that were adopted and put before the entire commission on May 11, 2007:
1) As the top priority of the Special Advisory Commission of Senior
Citizens to the 2008 Session of the Kentucky General Assembly we
recommend that:
The Kentucky General Assembly increase state funding for area agencies on aging to support senior programs by at least 20% for each year of the 2008-2010 biennium and by joint resolution endorse as a goal an equal or greater increase for each year of the 2010-2012 biennium.
2) The Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs recommends that the 2008 Kentucky General Assembly pass the comprehensive legislative proposal regarding identity theft (same as 2007 HB 7)to be submitted by the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General’s office.
The Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs adopted the following additional recommendation on November 2, 2007:
3) Recommend that the General Assembly direct the appropriate state agencies work to establish an “800” phone number to provide consumer education and protection for citizens entering into financial markets. We further recommend the General Assembly appropriate the necessary funding to produce public service announcements providing this service.
The joint meeting adjourned.