Group LTC Benefits Journal

CLASS Act repealed by House, but odds long of agreement by Senate or White House

House Votes To Repeal CLASS Act. - Updates from NAHU

The Washington Times (2/2, Cunningham) reports, "The House voted Wednesday to repeal a part of President Obama's health care law deemed unsustainable by his own administration, sending the bill to the Senate, where Democrats have indicated they aren't ready to kill the long-term care program." Notably, "more than two dozen House Democrats broke party ranks to join Republicans in a 267-159 vote to repeal the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act." The Times adds that "Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius effectively suspended the program last fall, conceding she couldn't find a way to make it pay for itself."

        The AP (2/2) reports that "the White House has said it does not support repealing the program, under which workers would pay a monthly premium during their careers and collect a daily cash benefit if they become disabled later in life."

        The Hill (2/2, Kasperowicz) reports in its "Floor Action" blog, "Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Wednesday criticized President Obama for opposing the GOP effort to repeal a key portion of the 2010 healthcare law. ... McConnell speculated that Obama's opposition to the bill is based on his determination that to win reelection in November, Obama must continue blaming the prior administration for the weak economic recovery."

        Roll Call (2/2, Brady, Subscription Publication) reports, "House Republicans on Wednesday took a symbolic swipe at President Barack Obama's health care reform law when they voted to repeal its long-term care provisions, the CLASS Act, which the administration abandoned last year as unworkable. But conservative critics of the law shouldn't hold their breath in anticipation of further votes between now and when the Supreme Court begins hearing oral arguments on the law next month." Also reporting this story are Reuters (2/2, Smith), ABC (2/2) "The Note" blog, and Modern Healthcare (2/2, Zigmond, Subscription Publication).

        Rockefeller: CLASS Repeal Won't Solve Long-Term Care Crisis. In Politico (2/2), Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) calls the CLASS Act "one of the most important components of our effort to provide long-term health care to the nation's senior population and people with disabilities." He argues, "Rather than repealing CLASS outright, we should all put our ideas on the table. And have the long-overdue debate that the American people deserve." 

House Votes To Repeal CLASS Act.

 

The Washington Times (2/2, Cunningham) reports, "The House voted Wednesday to repeal a part of President Obama's health care law deemed unsustainable by his own administration, sending the bill to the Senate, where Democrats have indicated they aren't ready to kill the long-term care program." Notably, "more than two dozen House Democrats broke party ranks to join Republicans in a 267-159 vote to repeal the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act." The Times adds that "Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius effectively suspended the program last fall, conceding she couldn't find a way to make it pay for itself."

        The AP (2/2) reports that "the White House has said it does not support repealing the program, under which workers would pay a monthly premium during their careers and collect a daily cash benefit if they become disabled later in life."

        The Hill (2/2, Kasperowicz) reports in its "Floor Action" blog, "Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Wednesday criticized President Obama for opposing the GOP effort to repeal a key portion of the 2010 healthcare law. ... McConnell speculated that Obama's opposition to the bill is based on his determination that to win reelection in November, Obama must continue blaming the prior administration for the weak economic recovery."

        Roll Call (2/2, Brady, Subscription Publication) reports, "House Republicans on Wednesday took a symbolic swipe at President Barack Obama's health care reform law when they voted to repeal its long-term care provisions, the CLASS Act, which the administration abandoned last year as unworkable. But conservative critics of the law shouldn't hold their breath in anticipation of further votes between now and when the Supreme Court begins hearing oral arguments on the law next month." Also reporting this story are Reuters (2/2, Smith), ABC (2/2) "The Note" blog, and Modern Healthcare (2/2, Zigmond, Subscription Publication).

        Rockefeller: CLASS Repeal Won't Solve Long-Term Care Crisis. In Politico (2/2), Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) calls the CLASS Act "one of the most important components of our effort to provide long-term health care to the nation's senior population and people with disabilities." He argues, "Rather than repealing CLASS outright, we should all put our ideas on the table. And have the long-overdue debate that the American people deserve."

House dismisses CLASS | BenefitsPro.

Senate Debates CLASS plan and chooses not to repeal - so continues to be on hold

 

Senate Floor Debate on CLASS Program
The Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) program was the focus of discussion on the Senate floor Wednesday when an effort to repeal the program by unanimous consent was rejected by one of the program’s supporters. 

The debate began when Senator John Thune (R-SD) requested that the Senate agree, by unanimous consent, to proceed to the immediate consideration of legislation, S. 720, that would repeal the CLASS program and then pass this bill without any debate or amendments.  Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) objected to this unanimous consent request. 

Following this brief exchange, senators engaged in a debate about the CLASS program and the long-term care needs of the American people.  Senator Rockefeller suggested that the CLASS program “could be amended through the regular legislative process to make it sustainable over the long term,” and he expressed frustration that the program’s critics are not offering solutions to fix the program.  Senator Rockefeller also discussed the need for a long-term care policy to help people who are forced to impoverish themselves to qualify for Medicaid.  Senator Thune agreed that long-term care is an important issue, and expressed support for solutions that are “based upon incentives as opposed to creating a new government program.”  Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Jeff Sessions (R-AL), and John McCain (R-AZ) also participated in the debate, focusing on flaws in the structure of the CLASS program and concerns that actuarial projections about the financial outlook for the program were ignored during the health reform debate. 

The Senate debate on the CLASS program follows two recent significant developments on this issue:  an October 14 announcement by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius that she does not “see a viable path forward” for implementation of the CLASS program at this time; and an October 31 letter from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) indicating that legislation to repeal the program would have “no budgetary effect” (i.e., meaning that it would not need to be accompanied by budget offsets). 

Still No Relief in Sight for Long-Term Needs

Excellent New York Times article about the need for long-term care coverage for middle-income families

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/25/health/25seniors.html

WSJ Video analysis of CLASS act withdrawal

 

Is the CLASS plan going to be shut down?

Breaking news from Forbes about a possible decision about the CLASS plan....

HHS Official: Administration is Shutting Down CLASS, Obamacare's Long-Term Care Entitlement - Forbes.

Congressional Republicans release report critical of CLASS plan

 As expected, the congressional republicans have released a report about the creation of the CLASS plan.  In the report are several e-mails related to early concerns about the sustainability of the program.

It looks like CLASS will need to be modified in order to survive - here is an article from POLITICO suggesting some modifications to the program -- http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0911/63642.html 

 Click the image below to download a copy of the report.

 

CLASS implementation likely delayed by one year - McKnight's Long Term Care News

This isn't really a surprise, since the plan by law didn't require plan designs until October 1st of 2012, and nobody really anticipated collecting premiums until 2013.

CLASS implementation likely delayed by one year - McKnight's Long Term Care News.

CLASS Act survives debt deal

The CLASS act has survived the initial debt deal, but it's life is still in jeapordy.  The 12 person debt commission panel will now determine if CLASS survives or not - and their findings aren't due until Thanksgiving.  Stay tuned.

Efforts to retain the CLASS plan in full force....

Many of the recent debt proposals in Congress in include elminating the CLASS long-term care plan.  Here is a response one group who is advocating the retention of the plan - Advance Class

http://www.advanceclass.org/images/stories/Advance_CLASS_Letter_to_the_President_and_Congressional_Leadership_7_21_11.pdf

What do you think? 

 

More news on attempts to repeal the CLASS Act...

Politico (7/21, Norman) reports, "The deficit-reduction proposal released Tuesday by the reconvened Gang of Six would repeal the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act, a move that would be a major setback to advocates for improving access to long-term care." The CLASS Act, part of the healthcare law, "was one of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy's most cherished programs," but the "fiscal commission led by Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles singled it out as an 'unsustainable' entitlement that would most likely saddle taxpayers with a major new liability, a finding that deficit hawks have latched on to in their attacks." In fact, even HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has acknowledged that the CLASS Act is flawed, although she "said that she has the regulatory leeway to adjust eligibility requirements, premiums and benefits levels to make it work."

        Fox News (7/21, Clark) on its website reports that the CLASS Act "was designed to relieve pressure on Medicaid and help keep Americans out of nursing homes by enabling them to save for future senior assistance with issues like eating, bathing or dressing as they get older. But the program has yet to begin amid concerns about the actual long-term costs." Opponents of the measure, "citing the Congressional Budget Office, have argued the CLASS Act is little more than a short-term revenue fix that will eventually add to the federal deficit. They also say that a mandate would be required to sustain the program because premiums would ultimately be based on how many Americans actually sign up."

        The Boston Globe (7/21, Schoenberg) "Political Intelligence" blog reports, "In the short term, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the program would reduce federal spending by $83 billion between 2012 and 2021." Yet, this is only due to the fact that "people must buy into the system for five years before getting benefits, so payouts would not actually start until 2017. In subsequent decades, the CBO predicted that the program would pay out more than it takes in." Experts "say because the program is voluntary, it is likely that only the sickest and most at-risk population will participate, driving up costs."

        In the Forbes (7/21) "Money & Politics" blog, Howard Gleckman says that at present, over "40 percent of all long-term care is funded by Medicaid." Meanwhile, "only about 7 million Americans own long-term care insurance, which is both costly and often unavailable to those with pre-existing medical conditions." Even though "CLASS is deeply flawed and needs to be reformed, it is an opportunity to transform long-term care from the means-tested Medicaid program to a public insurance-based system, much like Medigap insurance or Medicare Part D drug coverage." Therefore, if it "is repealed, that opportunity will be lost, and millions of Americans will find themselves with only a shrinking Medicaid benefit to support them as they age or become disabled at a younger age."