• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
California Health Advocates

California Health Advocates

  • Contact
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Contact
    • Our Team
    • Mission
    • Education Services
    • About HICAP
    • Press
    • Testimonials
  • MEDICARE COUNSELING
  • Fact Sheets
  • Topics
    • The Basics
    • Prescription Drugs
    • Low-Income Help
    • Medigap
    • Medicare Advantage
    • Other Health Insurance
    • Appeals
    • Billing & Claims
    • Disabilities
    • Long-Term Care
    • Tribal Nations & Medicare
    • Health Care Reform
    • Advocacy & Policy
    • Glossary
  • Fraud & Abuse
  • Blog
  • Donate

CHA Supports SB 426 Requiring Deferred Annuity Death Benefits to be Equal to Annuity Value

California Health Advocates > Blog > Advocacy & Policy > Letters and Comments to Policymakers > CHA Supports SB 426 Requiring Deferred Annuity Death Benefits to be Equal to Annuity Value

March 25, 2015 By Karen Fletcher

The Honorable Richard Roth, Chair
Senate Committee on Insurance
State Capitol Room 4034
Sacramento, CA 95814

Re: S.B. 426 (Leyva) – Support

Dear Senator Roth:

California Health Advocates writes in strong support of S.B. 426 authored by Senator Leyva.  This bill will require the death benefit of a deferred annuity sold to an individual 65 years of age or older to be at least equal to the annuity value at the time death occurs.

California Health Advocates is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing quality Medicare and related healthcare coverage information, education and policy advocacy. California Health Advocates supports the work of local Health Insurance Counseling & Advocacy Programs (HICAP) which provide benefits counseling and community education on Medicare and long term care.

Seniors buy annuities to protect their assets and to avoid out living their money. If an insured person dies during the surrender period existing law allows companies to charge surrender penalties that can result in a death benefit payment that is less than the total premiums paid for an annuity.

S.B. 426 will require a death benefit in deferred annuities to be at least equal to the annuity amount or the accumulated value of an annuity sold to a consumer 65 years of age or older. Companies will no longer be able to reduce the death benefit below the premiums paid by a senior.

California Health Advocates urges passage of S.B. 426 to protect seniors who buy these annuity products to provide financial security for them and their families.

Sincerely,

Signned

Bonnie Burns
Policy Specialist

Cc:

The Honorable Senator Connie M. Leyva
Erin Ryan, Principal Consultant, Senate Committee on Insurance

Filed Under: Advocacy & Policy, Letters and Comments to Policymakers

Previous Post: « SGR Legislation is a Bad Deal for Beneficiaries
Next Post: CHA Calls for Annual Notification to Beneficiaries with “Banked” Long Term Care Benefits »
Karen Fletcher

About Karen Fletcher

Our blogger Karen J. Fletcher is CHA's publications consultant. She provides technical expertise, writing and research on Medicare, health disparities and other health care issues. With a Masters in Public Health from UC Berkeley, she serves in health advocacy as a trainer and consultant. See her current articles.

Related Posts

  • CHA Comments on Reduced Benefit Options for LTC Insurance Rate Increases
  • CHA Supports Simplifying Medicare Enrollment with the Passage of the BENES Act
  • CHA Supports Increased Asset Limits for Medi-Cal
  • Support our SHIPs ~ CHA Advocates for Full Funding of Medicare Counseling Program

Primary Sidebar

News & Blog Categories

  • Medicare Advantage
  • Low-income help
  • Medicare & Disabilities
  • Medicare Basics
  • Prescription Drugs
  • Medicare & Other Health Insurance
  • Medicare Billings, Claims & Appeals
  • Health Care Disparities
  • Fraud & Abuse

—

  • COVID-19
  • Resources
  • Health Care Reform
  • Long-Term Care
  • CHA News

—

  • Advocacy & Policy
  • Letters and Comments to Policymakers
  • Legislative and Congressional Testimony
  • Policy Briefs

Send Us Comment

Do you have comments or concerns about your Medicare coverage? Issues regarding getting your needed prescriptions from your Part D plan, or a Medicare Advantage plan representative's marketing practices? Let us know at comments@cahealthadvocates.org.

We are dedicated to making Medicare's program work well for all beneficiaries. Your feedback from your own or your client's concerns and experiences with Medicare, will guide our Medicare advocacy efforts with key policy and decision-makers in both California and nationally with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Congress.

Archives

Donate Today

Footer

Sign up for our newsletter

Important Links

  • About Us
  • Fact Sheets
  • Donate
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Privacy Notice

Follow Us

Copyright © 2021 · California Health Advocates · Web Design by TWK Web and Print Design · Log in