Health Care Bill Includes CLASS provisions to take over Long Term Care Insurance

The Examiner ^ | 09/11/09 | J Brown

[Jabrown]

In 2007, Senator Ted Kennedy introduced the Community Living Assistance Services and Support Act (CLASS) into the Senate. The proposed bill was designed to provide Long Term Care related coverage to the American people. The plan would provide coverage for nursing home, assisted living and home health care services not provided by Medicare, but expanded coverage beyond the senior population. The plan called for compulsory contributions via payroll for all Americans age 18 and over and services would be provided after 5 years of enrollment. The bill died almost as fast as it was introduced. Republicans immediately opposed the bill which would was technically a form of nationalized, compulsory-based health care and blue-dog Democrats fearful of the costs, auto-enroll provisions, lack of benefits and devastating affect on the long-term care industry helped to prevent the legislation from moving forward.

In March of this year, with overwhelming Democratic majorities, the Kennedy CLASS act was reintroduced in the house and senate with hopes that Democratic leadership could now use their majorities and the popularity of President Obama to institute a government controlled long term care insurance program. However, the passage of such legislation remained uncertain. Shortly after re-introduction, Democratic leadership was presented with a golden opportunity with the call for comprehensive Health Care Reform to abandon the CLASS act as stand-alone legislation and insert the provisions of the act into the overall Health Care Reform package. Expecting a quick passage and a public focus on medical insurance, Democratic leadership hoped that the creation of the CLASS program would go overlooked. As a result, every Democratic version of health care reform in both the House and Senate has incorporated...

[whitedog57]

Fast track to insolvency.

The bottom half freeloading on the top half until the entire system breaks.

[screaminsunshine]

We are already insolvent. Ther is no way the tax paying segment of the country can pay the bills we already owe. The intrest alone is half a Trillion and going up.

[jws3sticks]

Here's the latest bumper sticker for Zer0 from Joe Wilson:

[listenhillary]

Bump

[Dudoight]

This really ticks me off. I have a GREAT LTC policy w/ GE and have been paying fairly substantial premiums for quite a while.

I can’t believe this. Are there enough of us w/ LTC policies to slap this down?

I could swear a blue streak...but will control myself.

[Gideon7]

I can’t find anything like CLASS in the text of HR 3200. Do you know what bill it is tucked in?

[Jabrown]

Yes...I posted more in the comments of the article...but within the house bill, the provisions are incorporated but the CLASS wording was removed...the Senate committee markeup added the CLASS act with no attempt to hide the details...I have received alert after alert from the LTC carriers I represent in the past week and Roll Call published an article on July 29th on the subject.

[DrC]

See Sec. 191 of Senate bill:
http://help.senate.gov/BAI09I50_xml.pdf

[listenhillary]

Bump

[Gideon7]

Thanks!