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In another downsizing  move of the Health Care Reform ACT –  Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) the office responsible for the new Long Term Care Act  claus have been reassigned.  This portion of the law is known as CLASS (Community Living  Assistance Services and Supports)  that was intended to make private Long Term Care Ins more affordable and available through the work site.

There are  Long Term Care concerns as less than 10% of the US Consumers carry a LTC policy.  Part of  the disparity is obvious costs and part is the feeling that Public Gov will take care of this.  In order for Medicaid to pay for Nursing Homes though ones assets with some exceptions are liquidated.  The other is not realizing that LTC does cover Home Health Care.

Under the CLASS provision “the Secretary shall designate a benefit plan no later than October 1, 2012.”  However, with this week’s action of “reassigning” 8 members of the CLASS unit go is another step in diminishing the act.  Also, politically before an election year it would of given too much fodder for the Republican Party. To have CLASS succeed, HHS would have to make it affordable, but, because the CLASS Act plan would be a voluntary plan, the plan would could face enormous risk of adverse selection, with only unhealthy workers signing up.  Critics contend that the program managers would have to raise premiums substantially over time to keep the program solvent, and that, over time, the program would fall into a costly deathly spiral. The program has become a favorite target for Republicans.

There may be political winners and losers but sadly who can calculate the amount of time + resources wasted to land back to square 1?

Resources:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/sep/22/obama-pulls-back-part-affordable-care-act/

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2011/09/22/long-term-care-program-in-jeopardy/?mod=WSJBlog

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