During the health care reform debate there was much discussion about the CLASS Act, the portion of the law intended to allow individuals to purchase long-term care insurance from the government. A cursory review of that provision of the law made it clear the program was not viable. It is likely the policymakers knew this all along, but because of the way it was designed during the first ten years following enactment of the law this provision generated excess revenue and thus was used to partially fund the reform effort to the tune of $86 billion.
Now the Secretary of HHS has announced the program is not viable and cannot be implemented. There are a lot of people in line to say, “I told you so!”
The real question is what else in the PPACA is not viable … We may never know.
This whole PPACA is a Class Act. I have heard of no-one ever saying they can’t wait for the PPACA to become effective. There are a whole lot of people saying they can’t wait until this government insurance package (fraud) is repealled. Sounds like a whole lot of people have it right and again government missed the mark – by a mile!
There is surely a lot wrong with PPACA and as structured it is highly debatable if it will save money or in any way make health care more affordable to anyone. However, I am not among those who favor wholesale repeal. It’s a start that needs a great deal of tweaking, but a start nevertheless.
If anyone comes up with a better idea that can expand coverage, raise quality and manage costs I would like to hear it.
Dick
Richard D Quinn Editor Quinnscommentary.com