Friday afternoon, October 14, 2011
Secretary Sebelius writes the Speaker of the House that “…despite our best analytical efforts, I do not see a viable path forward for CLASS implementation at this time.”
Read the full Health and Human Services Report on CLASS (48 pages).
Read the memo from CLASS’ administrator to Secretary Sebelius’, ending with “For the reasons stated above, I do not see a path to move forward with CLASS at this time. I recommend that we work with Congress and stakeholders, including consumers, insurers, and employers, to continue exploring all of the options to address the critical long-term care needs of Americans.” (emphasis added)
A particularly good article at The National Review
The text below is from a Washington Post article Troubled Long Term Care Program is First Casualty in the Political Wars Over Obama’s Overhaul
“But a central design flaw dogged CLASS. Unless large numbers of healthy people willingly sign up during their working years, soaring premiums driven by the needs of disabled beneficiaries would destabilize it, eventually requiring a taxpayer bailout.
After months insisting that could be fixed, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, finally admitted Friday she doesn’t see how.
“Despite our best analytical efforts, I do not see a viable path forward for CLASS implementation at this time,” Sebelius said in a letter to congressional leaders.
The law required the administration to certify that CLASS would remain financially solvent for 75 years before it could be put into place.
But officials said they discovered they could not make CLASS both affordable and financially solvent while keeping it a voluntary program open to virtually all workers, as the law also required.”
OTHER ARTICLES:
WA Post White House Eliminates Insurance Program for Long-Term Care