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HB997 • 2026

Long-term care insurance; premium rate increases, regulations.

<p class=ldtitle>A BILL to amend and reenact § 38.2-5206 of the Code of Virginia, relating to long-term care insurance; premium rate increases; regulations.</p>

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Seibold
Last action
2026-02-12
Official status
Continued
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill's status is marked as enacted, but there is no effective date provided.

Regulations for Long-term Care Insurance Premium Rate Increases

This bill requires regulations by the State Corporation Commission to cap and regulate how long-term care insurance premiums can be increased.

What This Bill Does

  • Sets a limit on premium rate schedule increases for long-term care insurance policies.
  • Requires any capped increase to be spread over at least five years, with no further requests during this period.
  • Prohibits additional rate increases once the total cumulative increase reaches 250% of the original premium.
  • Directs the State Corporation Commission to create regulations implementing these limits.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People who have or are considering long-term care insurance policies.
  • Insurance companies that offer long-term care insurance.

Terms To Know

Premium
The amount of money paid regularly to keep an insurance policy active.
Rate Schedule Increase
An increase in the premium rates for an insurance policy.

Limits and Unknowns

  • It is unclear how this will affect new long-term care policies issued after July 1, 2027.
  • The exact details of the regulations are yet to be determined by the State Corporation Commission.

Bill History

  1. 2026-02-12 Labor and Commerce

    Continued to 2027 in Labor and Commerce (Voice Vote)

  2. 2026-02-10 Subcommittee #1

    Subcommittee recommends continuing to 2027 (Voice Vote)

  3. 2026-01-22 Subcommittee #1

    Assigned HCL sub: Subcommittee #1

  4. 2026-01-14 House

    Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26100506D

  5. 2026-01-14 Labor and Commerce

    Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce

Official Summary Text

Long-term care insurance; premium rate increases; regulations.
Requires regulations promulgated by the State Corporation Commission for long-term care insurance rates to (i) provide a cap on premium rate schedule increases; (ii) require any capped premium rate schedule increase to be spread by the insurer over a period of not less than five years, during which time no further rate schedule increases may be requested; and (iii) prohibit additional premium rate schedule increases after prior cumulative rate schedule increases amount to 250 percent of the original premium. Under the bill, no additional rate increases shall be approved for a long-term care insurance policy that has already reached or surpassed the limit of 250 percent of its original premium. The bill directs the Commission to adopt regulations to implement the provisions of this act, including by establishing a regulatory cap on premium rate schedule increase for long-term care insurance policies that is no more than 30 percent of the maximum amount of premium rate schedule increase permitted under current regulations, as calculated on the request date of the premium rate increase.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
A BILL to amend and reenact §
38.2-5206
of the Code of Virginia, relating to long-term care insurance; premium rate increases; regulations.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §
38.2-5206
of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§
38.2-5206
. Rates.

A. Benefits provided for long-term care shall be reviewed and approved as set forth in regulations issued by the Commission addressing long-term care insurance. The regulations shall provide standards for initial filing requirements and premium rate schedule increases similar to those set forth in the model regulation for long-term care insurance developed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
The regulations shall also provide a cap on
premium
rate increases
and prohibit
suc
h
rate increases beyond 250 percent of the original premium of any given
long-term care insurance
policy.

B. The
regulation
regulations
promulgated under this section shall
recognize
:

1. Recognize
the unique, developing and experimental nature of long-term care insurance and shall recognize the unique needs of those individuals who have reached retirement age and the needs of those preretirement individuals interested in purchasing long-term care insurance policies
.
;

2. Provide a cap on premium rate schedule increases
that may be requested for approval by the Commission;

3. Require any capped premium rate schedule increase to be spread by the insurer over a period of not less than five years
, during which time no further rate schedule increases may be requested
;
and

4. Prohibit additional premium rate sc
hedule increases
after prior cumulative rate
schedule
increases
amount to
250 percent of the original premium of a long-term care insurance policy
. If a long-term care insurance policy has already reached or surpassed th
e limit of

250 percent
of the original premium of the policy
, no additional rate increases shall be approved
for such policy
.

C. A certificate by a qualified actuary or other qualified professional approved by the Commission as to the adequacy of the rates and reserves shall be filed with the Commission along with adequate supporting information.

2. That the State Corporation Commission (the Commission) shall promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of this act to be effective by July 1, 2027. The regulatory cap on premium rate increases for long-term care insurance issued pursuant to §
38.2-5206
of the Code of Virginia, as amended by this act, shall be no more than 30 percent of the maximum amount of premium rate schedule increase permitted under current regulations, as calculated on the request date of the premium rate increase, based upon the costs, assumptions and any funding gaps in existence on such request date, without incorporating, projecting, or otherwise accounting for any inflationary or cost-escalation effects that may arise during the phase-in period applicable to the premium rate increase.