The following information from Larry Grossman may be of interest to CSU-ERFSA members who are enrolled in the CalPERS LTC Program:
... this memo provides you some additional useful background material concerning the CalPERS LTC crisis, particularly the views of the newly elected CalPERS board member, Yvonne Walker. All the candidates characterized the program as a failure and as needing a legislative fix. This may be useful in your communications with your representatives, including Ms. Walker.
During the 2022 election campaign for the calpers special retired candidate, a “candidate forum” was held on september 7, 2022. videos of that forum are available here, from CalPERS and YouTube:
• https://www.calpers.ca.gov/page/about/board/board-elections/webcast
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bfzha-Xol9c
There was a large amount of time during the forum spent discussing the calpers long-term care program; in fact, it was the first item discussed and was the issue which the league of women voters moderator got the most questions for.
At minute 9 of the video, after the introductions, they begin discussing calpers ltc.
Here is my summary of their remarks; please note that the transcript is not provided on the calpers website of the video, though it is so indicated, while the youtube video can be read with closed captioning.
The first candidate to speak was Tim Behrens. He called the ltc program a “debacle”. He is encouraging LTC policyholders to contact various assembly and senate committees on aging, LTC and retirement to review the program. He also wants the CalPERS board to reach out to legislature and governor for financial help so that CalPERS will not carry the entire burden.
The second candidate to speak was Randell Cheek. he also said that the calpers LTC program has been a “debacle” since it started. he remarked that premium rates are up 900% on policies (a number which I believe I first reported in the press) and that as he has a LTC policy, he personally has seen these premium increases. He said that from the beginning, the LTC program should have gone to a private company, like CalPERS does with health care. He also noted that because CalPERS LTC operates without a private company, it got CalPERS out of the purview of the Department of Insurance (also an issue that i have previously written about). He said the legislature initiated the program, asked CalPERS to run the program, and therefore CalPERS should now go back to the legislature for help.
The last candidate to speak was Yvonne Walker, who was the candidate that was elected. Her remarks on CalPERS LTC start at minute 13. She said the LTC program is a “failed” program by CalPERS that has no easy solution. She said, repeatedly, that CalPERS should not be in the LTC business and that CalPERS needs to figure out how to “break that off”. She said that CalPERS also needs to work to figure out how to help people who have paid into the LTC program, expecting to have something they could look forward to as they got older. She committed to dealing with both issues, the policyholders and getting out of the program entirely. And she says she will put everything she has into finding solutions. She said there will have to be legislation to resolve the issue.