N.Y. Elder Law § 217-a: Long term care insurance education and outreach program

* § 217-a. Long term care insurance education and outreach program. 1.

For the purposes of this section, the term "long term care insurance

resource center" shall mean a project within an area agency on aging

funded pursuant to this section that provides direct assistance to the

general public in choosing and obtaining long term care insurance.

2. The commissioner of health, in consultation with the director of

the office for the aging and the superintendent of financial services,

is hereby authorized and directed, within amounts allocated therefor

pursuant to paragraph (qq) of subdivision one of section twenty-eight

hundred seven-v of the public health law, to establish a long term care

insurance education and outreach program within the department of health

for the purpose of informing and educating the general public about long

term care insurance, including those policies that are available through

the partnership for long term care program.

3. The commissioner of health, the superintendent of financial

services and the director of the office for the aging shall appoint a

state program coordinator to implement, administer and supervise the

long term care insurance education and outreach program, and coordinate

the development of the educational and informational materials. The

state program coordinator shall be an employee of the office for the

aging who shall be selected from among individuals with expertise and

experience in the fields of long term care insurance, and with other

qualifications determined by the commissioner of health, the

superintendent of financial services and the director of the office for

the aging to be appropriate for the position. The state program

coordinator shall, within amounts available, personally or through

authorized representatives, be responsible for training staff persons of

the program, including staff persons of the long term care insurance

resource centers, and shall provide for the collection and dissemination

of timely and accurate long term care insurance information to said

staff persons.

4. The long term care insurance education and outreach program shall,

within amounts available, consist of the following elements which shall

be provided by the office for the aging:

(a) educational and informational materials in print, audio, visual,

electronic or other media;

(b) public service announcements, advertisements, media campaigns,

workshops, mass mailings, conferences or presentations;

(c) establishment of a toll-free telephone hotline and electronic

services to provide information; and

(d) establishment of long term care insurance resource centers within

each area agency on aging.

5. Long term care insurance resource centers shall, within amounts

available, provide the general public with the following items or

services:

(a) educational and informational materials in print, audio, visual,

electronic or other media;

(b) public service announcements, advertisements, media campaigns,

workshops, mass mailings, conferences or presentations; and

(c) counseling, information, referral services, and direct assistance

in choosing and obtaining long term care insurance. Direct assistance

shall, within amounts available, include but not be limited to

assistance with the following:

(i) planning for the financing of long term care;

(ii) understanding policy options, benefits and appeal rights;

(iii) obtaining the coverage needed and the appropriate benefits; and

(iv) avoiding or reporting illegal billing, fraudulent practices or

scams.

Each long term care insurance resource center shall be responsible,

within amounts available, for providing a sufficient number of staff

positions (including volunteers) necessary to provide and carry out the

services of the long term care insurance education and outreach program,

provided that at least one position shall be filled by an individual who

is employed full time and paid by the area agency on aging. The long

term care insurance resource center shall be responsible for ensuring

that its staff persons have no conflict of interest in providing the

services described in subdivision four of this section.

6. Annually, in order to receive funding, each area agency on aging

shall submit a service plan and proposed budget for the operation of a

long term care insurance resource center to the state program

coordinator for approval. An area agency on aging shall be eligible to

receive funds in an amount of up to fifty thousand dollars, except that

an area agency on aging located within a city of one million or more

shall be eligible to receive funds in an amount of up to one hundred

thousand dollars.

7. The department of health shall produce, post on its website, make

available to others for reproduction, or contract with others to develop

such materials required by this section. The material produced pursuant

to this section shall be culturally and linguistically appropriate for

the communities served by the long term care insurance resource centers.

These materials shall be made available to the public free of charge.

8. In exercising any of their powers under this section, the

commissioner of health and/or the director of the office for the aging

may consult with appropriate agencies, organizations, and consumers and

providers of long term care insurance or organizations representing

them.

9. In addition to state funds allocated for programs under this

section, the commissioner of health and/or the director of the office

for the aging may accept funding from public sources for these programs,

and may undertake joint or cooperative programs with other public

entities or a private not-for-profit corporation which is neither a

provider or regulator of long term care insurance, or an affiliate or

unit of such agency or corporation.

10. The commissioner of health, the director of the office for the

aging and the superintendent of financial services shall issue an annual

report to the governor, the speaker of the assembly, and the temporary

president of the senate. Such report shall contain, at a minimum, the

following information: the number of individuals who have received

counseling and assistance by the long term care insurance education and

outreach program, their ages and their occupations; whether these

individuals have purchased a long term care insurance policy, and if so,

the policy that was purchased; a description of all of the services,

including counseling, education and outreach services, being provided by

the long term care education and outreach program, broken down by

county; the activities used to promote the partnership for long term

care program; and a description of the long term care education and

outreach program's funding sources and whether they are adequate. The

report shall also contain recommendations for targeting specific age

groups to buy long term care insurance, creating new methods of

promoting the purchase of long term care insurance, and improving long

term care insurance products.

11. An area agency on aging may use up to five percent of the total of

any funds provided to an area agency on aging pursuant to this section

for administration.

* NB Added Ch. 58/2004 Part B §23, language juxtaposed per Ch.

642/2004 §12

* NB Section number supplied by the Legislative Bill Drafting

Commission