Requiem For The CLASS Act

What's Left of the Affordable Care Act? A Progress Report

“…This was the sobering conclusion of a disaster that had unfolded in slow motion. The goal of the CLASS Act was to offer a public, voluntary insurance plan that would help pay for supportive services to enable individuals with mild functional limitations to remain in the community rather than entering nursing homes (for more, see Gleckman 2011Gleckman , 2012. It was a worthy goal, and one that might even have saved Medicaid some money in the long run.…”

Opportunities in the Affordable Care Act to Advance Long-Term Services and Supports: The Role of Rehabilitation Counseling

“…The Administration's expressed concerns were primarily based on uncertainties in the modeling and the legal authority within the ACA to make some changes under consideration (Gleckman, 2011). However, aging and disability advocates supporting the CLASS program feel the decision was premature and fraught with politics; they continue to urge the Administration to move forward on implementation (Minnix, 2011; National Council on Disability, 2011).…”

The Affordable Care Act and Long-Term Care: Comprehensive Reform or Just Tinkering Around the Edges?

“…This is largely the result of the Obama Administration's decision to abandon implementation of the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act, a provision within the ACA that would have established a national, federally administered voluntary LTC insurance program. The administration concluded that it had limited legal authority to make unilateral changes that addressed fatal flaws in the program's basic design and, as such, could not ensure 75 years of financial solvency as required by the law (Gleckman, 2011). It also recognized that the prevailing partisan political dynamic precluded shepherding the necessary changes that addressed these flaws through Congress.…”