Mike Oxford's Policy & Legislation Updates - Update on the CLASS Act.

7th December, 2011

This is Mike Oxford with another PAS Center Website Legislative and Policy Update.

On and off over the past four years, I’ve provided information and updates about the CLASS Act, passed as part of health reform in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The CLASS Act creates a national long term services and supports program that is also affordable. CLASS is supposed to be self-funding and self-sustaining and be actuarially sound for 75 years into the future. All along, however, critics of CLASS have said that the program will NOT be self-funding and self-sustaining and that it will create adverse selection which will compound these problems.

CLASS has been under continuous attack and last week a bill that would repeal the CLASS Act moved forward in the legislative process. Last Spring, HR 1173, The Fiscal Responsibility and Retirement Security Act of 2011 and a Senate companion, S 720, the Repeal the CLASS Entitlement Act, were introduced. In the House, the bill was referred to the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Ways and Means Committee; while in the Senate, the bill was referred to the Senate Finance Committee. Last week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee did their mark-up of the bill and by a vote of 33 to 17, reported the bill out of committee favorably. The bill currently has, by the way, 108 co-sponsors in the House. There has been no action taken, so far, by House Ways and Means Committee or by the Senate Finance Committee.

For a quick update - There has been no movement along the legislative process for the Direct Care Quality Improvement Act (HR 2341 / S 1273) since last report. This bill, again, would address the “companionship” rule and related issues of minimum wage and overtime pay.

This is Mike Oxford, for the PAS Center Website Legislative and Policy Update, signing off until next time.