Obama pulls plug on part of health overhaul law
Associated Press
October 14, 2011
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.
Targeted by congressional Republicans for repeal, the long-term care plan became the first casualty in the political and policy wars over the health care law. The program had been expected to launch in 2013.
"This is a victory for the American taxpayer and future generations," said Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., spearheading opposition in the Senate. "The administration is finally admitting (the long-term care plan) is unsustainable and cannot be implemented."
Known as CLASS, the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports program was a longstanding priority of the late Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.
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http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/10/14/ap/health/main20120670.shtml-------------------------------------------
White House kills CLASS
by Sarah Kliff
Washington Post
October 14, 2011
Late Friday afternoon is the golden hour for making announcements that you hope won’t get much attention. The news coming out of the Department of Health and Human Services right now is no exception: The Obama administration has halted work on health reform’s Community Living Assistance Services and Support, or CLASS, Act after finding it too difficult to implement.
The action stands to reduce expected revenues from the health reform law by $86 billion, as well as raise questions about why the provision was included in the health reform law to begin with.
What’s most damaging about the decision are the larger implications for the health reform law. The pullout is expected to reduce the projected budget savings of the Affordable Care Act -- when the Office of Budget Management issues the president’s 2013 budget -- by approximately $86 billion. The health reform law will still generate $127 billion in revenue, administration officials say, but that’s a big notch down from the original estimates.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/white-house-kills-class/2011/10/14/gIQA15zWkL_blog.html-------------------------------------------
Obama administration halts part of heath care law
By Msnbc.com's Tom Curry
October 14, 2011
The Obama administration announced Friday that it has suspended one piece of the landmark health care law which the president signed last year.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius told Congress in a letter that the CLASS Act, which was supposed to provide a new voluntary long-term care insurance program, was unworkable since no actuarially sound way could be figured out to run the program.
“I do not see a viable path forward for CLASS implementation at this time,” Sebelius said in her letter.
One of the Republicans who led the opposition to the CLASS Act, Sen. John Thune of South Dakota said Friday, “The administration is finally admitting the CLASS Act entitlement is unsustainable and cannot be implemented. Simply setting aside the program for the near-term is not enough. Repeal is the only solution to ensuring American taxpayers will not be on the hook in the future for this disastrous entitlement.”
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/14/8325174-obama-administration-halts-part-of-heath-care-law