The Affordable Healthcare Act, signed by Obama not only revamped the nation’s entire health care system, it also created a new entitlement — one that some analysts say will never work. Antos of the conservative American Enterprise Institute said it’s the power of politics over common sense, and it will never work. The new entitlement is called CLASS, for Community Living Assistance Services and Supports, which would provide in-home services for the disabled.
The problem for the Administration is that is that Sen. Judd Gregg inserted language in the health care bill that requires the program to be self-sustaining — meaning it cannot add to the deficit, as Medicare does. This has Republicans skeptical.
“As I look at it,” Rep. Michael Burgess, a doctor from Texas, said, “my sense is that it wont work and that there is little you can do to make it self-sustainable.” Fox News
But even some Administration officials say it won’t work.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius doesn’t go that far but concedes officials are working on what she called a”significantly different” program from the one outlined in the law, which called for benefits of at least 50 dollars a day. The problem is setting premiums high enough to cover the benefits but not so high people won’t sign up for the program, which is voluntary.
What has everyone in agreement is the fact that the premiums paid in are likely to be pretty modest, while the benefits that go out are enormous. But Secretary Sebelius gave assurances to senators that the program will only go forward if it imposes no burden on taxpayers. Wanna bet? Since when has Obama told us the truth on any of this?
Health care analyst Judy Feder of Georgetown Public Policy Institute, said, “the challenge is defining that benefit, and selling it in the market place. And the secretary has acknowledged as everyone knows that there are some hard decisions to be made.” Fox News
The program has been studied by the HHS for 18 months, and Sebelius recently let go some of the officials working on CLASS, which led to reports the department was being dismantled. Sebellius said she’ll announce the details of the program in mid-October. But the chief actuary of Medicare warns it would have to enroll 230 million people to be workable — that’s more than the entire American workforce. Now we will see if by October, although experts say it will be costly and fail, whether or not they will implement the program or not.
Janet
/ 10/14/2011Update: the Obamanut dropped this part as it would cost taxpayers too much, and could not self sustain itself.
Obama Pulls Plug on New Long-Term Care Insurance Program in Health Care Law
The Obama administration Friday pulled the plug on a major program in the president’s signature health overhaul law — a long-term care insurance plan dogged from the beginning by doubts over its financial solvency.
Fox News
Janet
/ 10/17/2011Failure of Home Care Insurance Program Has GOP Eyeing Other Cracks in Health Care Law
The Obama administration’s decision to scrap a new entitlement for the disabled that was part of President Obama’s signature health care law has ignited a fresh debate over the entire law — with Democrats calling it a minor snag and Republicans arguing the entire law is unraveling.
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