CLASS Act Archives - Howard Gleckman

Voters To Decide On Washington State’s Public Long-Term Care Insurance Program

Washington voters will decide the fate of the state’s path-breaking public long-term care insurance program in a referendum this Fall. If adopted, Initiative 2124 would make participation in the Washington Cares program voluntary, effectively killing it. The effort, largely bankrolled by hedge fund manager Brian Heywood and backed by prominent state Republicans, is the latest attempt by conservatives to dismantle [...]

By Howard Gleckman|2024-02-21T10:08:40-05:00February 21st, 2024|long-term care insurance|0 Comments

A New Congressional Proposal For Public Long-Term Care Insurance

Representative Frank Pallone (D-NJ), the senior Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is proposing a new universal Medicare long-term care benefit. His bill, still in draft form, initially would provide a daily cash benefit of about $100 after a two-year waiting period. As an alternative to the waiting period, Pallone is also considering a cash deductible that would [...]

By Howard Gleckman|2018-06-13T15:55:43-04:00June 13th, 2018|long-term care financing|2 Comments

Long-Term Care Commission Must Finish By Sept. 30

The Congressional Long-Term Care Commission met for the first time on Thursday, just two days after naming an executive director. But members acknowledge they have no choice but to finish in barely 90 days. That’s an absurdly short amount of time for the panel to meet the ambitious goal Congress gave it—to recommend ways to improve the way we deliver [...]

By Howard Gleckman|2013-06-30T20:54:55-04:00June 30th, 2013|congressional long-term care commission, long term care reform|1 Comment

Congressional Long-Term Care Panel Will Finally Meet, But Odds for Success are Lengthening

The Congressional long-term care commission will finally hold its first meeting in late June. However, the panel must conclude its meetings in the fall and commission members are increasingly pessimistic that they will reach agreement on any substantial reforms to the nation’s troubled system of supports and services for the frail elderly or younger people with disabilities. Last Friday, I [...]

By Howard Gleckman|2013-06-03T21:58:56-04:00June 3rd, 2013|congressional long-term care commission, long term care reform, Medicaid|1 Comment

Policy Experts Agree: The U.S. System for Financing Long-Term Care is Crumbling

America’s system for financing long-term care is failing, and the window for creating a payment system that works is rapidly closing. That was the conclusion of a morning-long expert session sponsored last week by the SCAN Foundation. While the participants differed on specific solutions, most agreed on four key issues: The existing system for funding paid long-term supports and services [...]

By Howard Gleckman|2013-03-27T18:57:21-04:00March 27th, 2013|long term care reform, long-term care financing, long-term care insurance|3 Comments

Not Interested in Long-Term Care Insurance? How About Short-Term Care Insurance?

Long-Term Care insurance too expensive? How about short-term care insurance? In an attempt to make increasingly-costly coverage affordable for middle-class buyers, some insurers are selling policies that offer bare-bones personal care benefits—sometimes as little as $50-a-day for three months. These policies are more affordable, but are they worth the money? Bankers Life and Casualty Co. has been selling these low-cost, low-benefit [...]

By Howard Gleckman|2013-03-18T21:30:32-04:00March 18th, 2013|long-term care insurance, Medicaid|0 Comments

White House Finally Fills Out Long-Term Care Commission

The White House finally appointed the last three members of the congressional long-term care commission, making it possible for the panel to get down to work. The nominations, which were supposed to have been made by Feb 1, are Henry Claypool, Executive Vice President of the American Association of People with Disabilities and a top aide at the Department of Health and Human [...]

By Howard Gleckman|2013-03-13T12:41:42-04:00March 13th, 2013|Aging, congressional long-term care commission, Federal senior services programs, long term care reform, long-term care financing, Uncategorized|0 Comments

What Ever Happened to the Long-Term Care Commission?

Nearly two months ago, Congress created a commission to recommend reforms to the current long-term care system. So what has happened since? Not much. Leaders of Congress have appointed members to serve on the panel but President Obama—who has three of 15 picks-- has not yet made his choices. The commission can’t select a chairman, find a staff, or set an agenda [...]

By Howard Gleckman|2013-02-25T21:31:30-05:00February 25th, 2013|Aging, long term care reform, Medicaid, nursing homes|1 Comment

What Could Congress’ Long-Term Care Commission Accomplish?

On New Year's Day, as part of the law that kept the nation from toppling over the fiscal cliff for two months, Congress quietly repealed the Community Living Assistance Services & Support (CLASS) Act, and created a new commission to recommend broad long-term care reforms that could affect financing, delivery and care workers. I was, and continue to be, very skeptical about the commission's ability to [...]

By Howard Gleckman|2013-01-10T00:11:01-05:00January 10th, 2013|Federal senior services programs, long term care reform, long-term care financing|2 Comments

Fiscal Cliff Deal Repeals CLASS Act, Creates Long-Term Care Commission

The New Year's budget agreement to avoid the fiscal cliff includes two key measures that could be critical to people receiving long-term supports and services and their caregivers. The first repeals the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act. The second creates a new national commission to develop a plan for better financing and delivery of long-term care services. Unfortunately, there may be [...]

By Howard Gleckman|2013-01-01T20:37:12-05:00January 1st, 2013|long term care reform, long-term care financing|1 Comment