Plenty of Company for D.C. Couple Outraged Over Long-Term Care Premiums

Some columns really touch a nerve. Last month we wrote about Donna and Chester Joy, Southwest Washington residents angered by a 25 percent jump in premiums for some enrolled in the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program. The program is administered by the Office of Personnel Management, and the insurance is provided by the John Hancock and MetLife insurance companies. The Joys bought a higher-cost policy, thinking that annual premiums would remain constant. Many readers were equally outraged and loaded up our mailbox. Here is a sampling of the letters:

We are not alone in our anger over rising premiums! We are considering dropping this coverage. . . . It is a scam. What a waste of six years of premiums! We all have been CHEATED!!! Outraged in Indiana.

Pam Kale, Indianapolis

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Your article was the first I heard of the proposed increase, despite reading all my mail, many newspapers and online publications. After reading your article, I went to the OPM Web site and learned that I am one of those affected by a 25 percent increase. Certainly not what I was led to believe in the LTC [long-term care] training sessions I attended, on the basis of which I performed alternate investment scenarios to decide whether to enroll and which option to choose.

Susanne Lotarski, Chevy Chase

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Maybe it's a shame on me, but I was certainly under the same impression as the Joys. The brochure I read prior to sign-up certainly left the strong impression that there would never be a fee increase. It was one of the primary selling points! Also like the Joys, I would have a lot of "sunk cost" if I pulled out at this point. I guess you might say we got taken, or perhaps a more colorful term might equally apply. Not mentioned in your article is what analysis OPM puts forth to ensure that a rate hike is valid. What does the fine print in the basic contract/franchise say about the process that is used to approve a rate hike? Leaves one feeling kind of helpless and abused with no reasonable alternative, except keep paying and wondering when the next hike will come.

Denis Brown, Reston