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Poicies that repace contracts with ifetime benefit periods wi offer a maximum of 7 years of benefits. The new poicies aso wi require insureds to meet caim requirements for at east 20 days before the insureds can begin coecting benefits.

Another change wi require caimants to get icensed heath care providers to certify that they wi be unabe to perform at east 2 activities of daiy iving for a period of at east 90 days.

Reguators wi cap rate increases for poicyhoders who accept the new imits on benefits at 25% for the first year and 15% per year in ater years.

Insurance reguators in states other than Forida wi have to approve use of the order in their states, McCarty says.

Conseco President Bi Shea has wecomed McCartys order.

McCartys course of action "protects poicyhoders whie providing Conseco Senior Heath with the abiity to both mitigate its osses and enhance its abiity to pay future caims," Shea says in a statement.

Conseco acquired American Traveers ife Insurance Company and Transport ife Insurance Company, the companies that form the basis of Conseco Senior Heath, in December 1996.

Conseco Senior Heath discontinued writing new home heath care poicies on a nationa basis in 2000, and Forida et Conseco Senior Heath increase rates on the Forida home heath care poicies 45% in 2002 in an effort to overcome poicy osses, according to McCartys order.

Some poicyhoders have accused Conseco Inc. of "ooting" Conseco Senior Heath, but McCarty rejects that aegation in his order and notes that the parent company has pumped $534 miion into Conseco Senior Heath over the past 5 years to subsidize the units home heath care osses.

The Conseco Senior Heath home heath care osses appear to be due, in part, to a weak caims-screening process, McCarty writes.

Reproduced from Nationa Underwriter Edition, Apri 23, 2004. Copyright 2004 by The Nationa Underwriter Company in the seria pubication. A rights reserved.Copyright in this artice as an independent work may be hed by the author.