The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 8 : Banking and Insurance

Chapter 154 : Long-Term Care Insurance

• § 8085. Minimum benefits and coverage; general

  (a) The Commissioner shall adopt rules establishing standards for minimum benefits and coverage that must be provided by a long-term care insurance policy to carry out the purposes of subsection (b) of this section. Nothing in this section prohibits an insurer from underwriting in accordance with that insurer’s underwriting standards and the requirements of section 8086 of this title.

  (b) No long-term care insurance policy may:

  (1) be canceled, nonrenewed, or otherwise terminated on grounds other than by cancellation by the insured individual or certificate holder; nonpayment of premiums by the insured individual or certificate holder; all amounts potentially payable under the terms of the policy having been fully paid out; or except as provided for in section 8094 of this title;

  (2) contain a provision establishing a new waiting period in the event existing coverage is converted to or replaced by a new or other form within the same company, except with respect to an increase in benefits voluntarily selected by the insured individual or group policyholder;

  (3) provide coverage for skilled nursing care only or provide significantly more coverage for skilled care in a facility than coverage for lower levels of care;

  (4) deny benefits or coverage on the basis that the need for services arises from a mental condition or Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders;

  (5) be issued without including a provision covering home health care benefits that complies with the standards for minimum benefits and coverage established by rule under subsection (a) of this section;

  (6) fail to offer adult day care benefits, either in the policy or as an optional rider, that comply with the standards for minimum benefits and coverage established by rule under subsection (a) of this section;

  (7) be offered without including an option for inflation adjustment protection that complies with the standards for minimum benefits and coverage established by rule under subsection (a) of this section;

  (8) include a deductible or elimination period in excess of 100 days, computed in a manner prescribed by the Commissioner by rule, for any covered benefit;

  (9) require payment of premiums more frequently than monthly; or

  (10) be represented as having a premium described as level, fixed, or by similar words, if the premium is not, in fact, fixed and may be increased. (Added 2003, No. 124 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. Jan. 1, 2005; amended 2013, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 23.)