Monday, October 17, 2011 CLASS Dismissed
Last week, the Obama administration formally shut down the CLASS Program, part of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). CLASS would establish a long-term care insurance program that individuals could pay into and then receive a daily benefit if they needed long term care.
But, the experts figured out that not enough people would sign up for the voluntary program. Thus, it would end up becoming insolvent, adding to the deficit and costing taxpayers.
Insolvent? Adding to the deficit? Costing taxpayers a lot? Sounds like Medicaid, Medicare and other entitlement programs!
Our political leaders just can’t seem to find a way around the problem of ballooning long-term care expenses. Meanwhile, a nursing home costs approximately $8,000 per month and at least 33% of people will spend on average 3 years in a nursing home during their lives. Do the math, and that adds up to almost $300,000.
Yes, Medicaid will cover the cost of nursing home care, but only when you have nothing left. The CLASS program aimed to fix this problem, but it was a failure.
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