Comments on: Seniors decry CalPERS long-term care rate hikes

By: Marilyn L. Ditty

Marilyn L. Ditty — Mon, 10 Aug 2015 23:10:08 +0000

A class action suit should be filed immediately to protect people who have been paying in for years. Their funds will be used for those applying for care now and there won’t be any money left for those who will need care in the next five – ten years. Surely there is a public lawyer who would take this on. Over 117,000 people have paid into this fund and there has to be money left. Let me know if I can help, I am not an attorney.

By: Staten Johnston

Staten Johnston — Fri, 16 May 2014 01:48:48 +0000

Long-Term Care as a Casino
At the Casinos in Los Vegas the managers know that the odds are always with the house.
For example, in a game of dice there are twelve options. The Casino knows what the odds are for any one number to show. With this knowledge, a Casino can make billions of dollars each year.
A customer though has to bet it all on the possibility that just one of the numbers will show on the next roll. The customer is at a great disadvantage – twelve to one.
CalPERS Long-Term Care (or the CALPERS Board of Directors) knows what the odds are concerning how long segments of the 130,000 members will live. They know the current ages of the members and, in some cases, even their medical conditions. They can predict with great accuracy how long members will live. The CalPERS Board does nothing to advise the members about the odds or even to caution the elderly members about the consequences of betting on the wrong number.
The member though has to bet on one number. This is exactly like throwing the dice but with more then twelve possibilities. The member enrolls in a new plan betting their very life on an option number like: three years, five years, ten years and such. If they choose wrong, they will spend the remainder of their life in unimaginably horrible conditions.
Long-Term Care has to be provided for life. Any thing else is too much to lose!
CalPERS cannot lose because they know the odds of how long portions of the members will live. They even know when there will not be any of the existing members still alive. Like the gamming businesses, the CalPERS Board of Directors cannot lose.
But, the CalPERS Board of Directors can win much more if they can persuade the members to take huge bets on their life. They do this by offering options that trick members into taking the obscene gamble.
CalPERS must not be allowed to do this with people’s lives. CalPERS must not be allowed to harvest the meager wealth of seniors like a cash crop in an almond orchard. CalPERS must not be allowed to force seniors to bet on how long they might live in need of care.
The CalPERS Board of Directors must be held accountable.
The CalPERS Board of Directors created a business (or maybe a fund) called CalPERS Long-Term Care. They knew the trust that government employees had in their CalPERS Retirement Fund. They knew the Retirement Fund had been managed with great care for eighty (80) years and they knew the general public is resolved to protect this promise.
The CalPERS Board of Directors used the CalPERS name to create a gambling fund.
They told people “You can trust us. Have we ever let you down?” The Fund Salesmen made promises that the costs would never increase if you enrolled in the early years (20 years ago). The CalPERS Board of Directors knew this. The CalPERS Board of Directors buried, in the paper work, a small sentence that said the premiums could be raised at any time. The premiums have been raised often and often with large percentages. The CalPERS Board of Directors knew that very old people had paid in thousands upon thousands of dollars during last twenty years. These very old members, CSEA Seniors, are now getting near to the time they will actually need the care they were promised. These older people retired on fixed incomes. These fixed incomes have been robbed by inflation to the point that the retirees struggle just to meet the everyday needs of food and shelter
The CalPERS Board of Directors recognized that these people do not have wealth or power. So the BOD forced upon these elderly people options to drop out and give away their many years of premiums or bet everything on how long they will live.
Monsters play these kinds of games. People serving on the CalPERS Board of Directors are supposed to have pledged to act in everyway to protect the members.
Who stands to benefit from the “remainder funds?”
The CalPERS Long-Term Care program, I understand, has about 130,000 enrollees. This number is probably much larger if the ones who dropped out or died, during the last twenty years were counted.
With the current offering I imagine that many more will decide that they can no longer afford the premiums and they will just drop out. During the next few years many of the enrollees will die.
Who gets the remainder money? Has money already been deducted from the fund in recognition of the drop-outs or deaths? If there was not some sort of a remainder benefit (profit) for someone then why did the CalPERS Board of Directors decide to create a new fund of just new younger enrollees. Without new members, the remainder fund will materialize sooner. If the older crop is to be harvested for maximum profit then it is essential to know when it is ripe.
The Public Needs to Know
The public needs to know what it appears the CalPERS Board of Directors has done. The new fund enrollees need to know what the CalPERS Board of Directors is doing to the older enrollees. In a few years from now, the new fund enrollees will be offered unthinkable options they must choose or refuse. The new enrollees also must be led to understand that they also can attain the age of care and then find out it is not going to be there.
What’s Covered?
I noticed in recent publications about the CalPERS Long-Term Care coverage that in addition to the need to meet three criteria for coverage the CalPERS Board of Directors will inquire to find out if there is someone living in your home that can provide the care. This someone would be a spouse who is of similar age. This is crazy!
The administration of the benefits has been contracted to an out-of-state company. Collecting benefits has become so complicated that a law firm, Access My Benefits LLC regularly advertises in the CSEA monthly newspaper that they can help members get benefits for a fee. The CalPERS Board of Directors is aware of this law firm’s offer of assistance.
LONG TERM CARE implies – until death
Once we become infirm, to the degree that we are in need of long-term care with the conditions required to obtain benefits, we need the care to be provided until we die. Something like, “Well you only signed up for the three year option” is not even thinkable.
Long-term care implies that it will be from the date we become infirm until we die with dignity.

By: N. Johnson

N. Johnson — Mon, 23 Sep 2013 04:53:09 +0000

Please send my name in for any class action suite. I do not believe premiums can be refunded because it is an insurance policy. Buy CALPERS should be held responsible for this obvious criminal activity involving misrepresentation of the program and violation of the pubic trust.

By: Peggy Nadin, Frank Nadin

Peggy Nadin, Frank Nadin — Sun, 18 Aug 2013 20:31:01 +0000

I would like to be included in the class action lawsuit against PERS in regard to the pending 85% premium increase. My husband and I have invested over $60,000 in our CalPERS long-term care insurance. We were supposed to be protected from inflation increases and other drastic increases in premiums. That has been a joke! We simply cannot afford to lose our investment, and cannot afford major increases in premiums, either.

By: Jan

Jan — Mon, 22 Jul 2013 14:25:55 +0000

June 18th, 2013 update

By: Dolores Manning

Dolores Manning — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 17:41:21 +0000

CalPERS Long Term Care is 100% member funded and no other source backs up the fund. That makes it different form CalPERS pension and health insurance funds. Since it is 100% our money, I don’t see why we can’t ask for and get regulation, audits and whatever else is needed for real accountability and real responsibility to the people, like me, who have put their money into the LTC program. I trusted CalPERS. NO MORE!!!

By: Jan

Jan — Wed, 26 Jun 2013 22:18:09 +0000

Has the audit of CalPERS been completed?

By: Julie

Julie — Sun, 23 Jun 2013 04:10:28 +0000

My husband is 91 and has Alzheimer’s Disease. I filed a claim for him in February, 2013. It is now nearing the end of
June and CalPERS is still stalling on approval of the claim. Meanwhile, I have paid for 120 days of care for him. We
have about $70,000 invested in his account alone. CalPERS sends me letters stating that they have not received
requested information. But, when I call the parties that are to provide the information, I find that it has been sent
no less than three times. Our medical plan said CalPERS was to send a prepayment of $15. When it was not received,
the medical plan closed it out. Now CalPERS just made another request. When I followed up with the medical plan, I
was told that when they get a check for $15 from CalPERS they will send the records. New letter from CalPERS states
they have not received the requested information and are threatening to deny the claim. Since we have no recourse
through the Insurance Commissioner, who can we turn to? The California Attorney General maybe? This sounds more
and more like fraud.

By: Tracey

Tracey — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 22:11:09 +0000

Its to bad that we can not arrange a class action law suit.

By: Pamela Ellis

Pamela Ellis — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 19:56:42 +0000

I also want to be a part of the class action suit. I have invested $20,000 + into my long term care. I have contacted the CA insurance commissioner but have yet to receive a response. I agree that our funds should be returned or Cal Pers needs to honor the policy they sold to us.