A subcommittee in the Virginia House of Delegates has declined to send a bill to the full House that would have required that insurance companies notify a third party before canceling a long term care insurance policy.
The subcommittee's 5-5 vote on the bill, HB 719, which had been introduced by Delegate Jennifer McClellan, left it dead for this session.
The bill would have required that each insurer offering long term care insurance, "as a protection against unintentional lapse," obtain a written designation of at least one person — in addition to the applicant — to receive notice of lapse or termination of the policy or a certificate for nonpayment of premium, or a written waiver dated and signed by the applicant electing not to designate additional persons to receive notice. There would have been an exception for a policyholder or certificateholder who paid the premium for a long term care insurance policy or certificate through a payroll or pension deduction plan.
