long term care reform Archives - Page 10 of 13

Obama Aide: “Cautiously Optimistic” About the CLASS Act

Senior Obama Administration official Richard Frank says he is "cautiously optimistic" that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) can build a viable government sponsored long-term care insurance program under the CLASS Act. CLASS is a national, voluntary long-term care insurance system that was included in the 2010 health reform law. Frank, a highly respected professor of health policy at Harvard Medical School, is Deputy Assistant [...]

By Howard Gleckman|2010-12-09T19:15:16-05:00December 9th, 2010|long term care reform, long-term care financing, long-term care insurance|0 Comments

Obama Deficit Panel Chairs: CLASS Act is “Unsustainable”

Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, the co-chairs of President Obama's deficit reduction commission, have called the CLASS Act "unsustainable" and are proposing that it be either reformed or repealed. They say the national voluntary long-term care insurance program passed as part of this year's health reform law "is viewed by many experts as financially unsound." The first version of the Bowles-Simpson [...]

By Howard Gleckman|2010-12-01T15:52:08-05:00December 1st, 2010|long term care reform, long-term care financing, long-term care insurance|0 Comments

The Obama Fiscal Commission, Medicaid, and Seniors

The co-chairs of President Obama's bipartisan deficit commision have proposed a far-reaching plan to reduce the nation's massive deficit. It includes big changes for both current and future seniors. Among them: higher Social Security taxes and reforms in the design of benefits, reduced payments to Medicare providers and greater cost sharing by Medicare beneficiaries, and, perhaps most dramatic, a fundamental change in federal payments for Medicaid long-term [...]

By Howard Gleckman|2010-11-10T16:59:45-05:00November 10th, 2010|long term care reform, Medicaid, Medicare|0 Comments

Will the New Congress Repeal the CLASS Act?

There is lots of quiet speculation in Washington about the fate of the CLASS Act in the wake of the huge Republican 2010 election day victory. Will CLASS be repealed? Will it be changed in any major way? My best guess is that CLASS--the national voluntary long-term care insurance program passed as part of the 2010 health reform law--will neither be repealed nor fundamentally [...]

By Howard Gleckman|2010-11-03T14:48:50-04:00November 3rd, 2010|Health reform, long term care reform, long-term care insurance|0 Comments

The Heritage Foundation is Wrong About the CLASS Act

In a Washington Times column yesterday, two Heritage Foundation researchers argued that the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act is a trillion dollar government bailout waiting to happen. The CLASS Act is a national voluntary long-term care insurance program that was included in the new health care law. And to listen to the authors, you'd think CLASS will [...]

By Howard Gleckman|2010-07-28T07:00:11-04:00July 28th, 2010|long term care reform, long-term care financing|0 Comments

Obama’s Choice to Run Medicaid and Medicare

Kudos to President Obama for making a "recess appointment" of Don Berwick to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Berwick may be the ideal choice for the job. He is the right candidate at exactly the right time. The new health law makes possible broad reforms in the way we deliver health and long-term care. But it by no [...]

By Howard Gleckman|2010-07-07T11:00:07-04:00July 7th, 2010|Health reform, long term care reform, Medicaid, Medicare|0 Comments

The White House Begins to Market the CLASS Act

Nice to see President Obama and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius beginning to talk about the CLASS Act--the voluntary national long-term care insurance program that is included in the new health law. But unfortunately, even at a town hall yesterday at a senior center, CLASS was little more than an afterthought for the Administration. Sebelius discussed the new program only in response [...]

By Howard Gleckman|2010-06-09T14:12:13-04:00June 9th, 2010|Health reform, long term care reform, long-term care financing|0 Comments

New Report: $115 Average Premiums for CLASS-Like Insurance

A new model from the SCAN Foundation and the consulting firm Avalere Health concludes that premiums for a national voluntary long-term care insurance program similar to the newly-enacted CLASS Act would average about $115-a-month. The study concludes that a mandatory long-term care insurance program could provide identical benefits for one-third the cost, or about $40. Premiums would vary by the buyer's age and increase by inflation over time. The CLASS [...]

By Howard Gleckman|2010-04-15T19:31:46-04:00April 15th, 2010|long term care reform, long-term care financing|0 Comments

What The CLASS Act Will Mean for You

The new health law creates, for the first time, a national, voluntary long-term care insurance system called the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act. Participation will be optional, but if you enroll, you'll get a basic cash benefit for life to help pay for personal assistance if you are disabled or very frail and unable to care for [...]

By Howard Gleckman|2010-04-13T18:41:11-04:00April 13th, 2010|long term care reform, long-term care financing|2 Comments

Can Government and Private LTC Insurance Mesh?

Earlier this week, I participated in a panel with Connie Garner, the Senate staffer who was a key architect of the CLASS Act, the national long-term care insurance program that is included in the new health reform law. Garner challenged the audience, which included several private long-term care insurance company execs, to work with her to help turn CLASS into workable [...]

By Howard Gleckman|2010-04-02T12:45:54-04:00April 2nd, 2010|long term care reform, long-term care financing|2 Comments