Arranging and financing long-term care is an issue everyone will face yet no one wants to talk about. However, following the Health Department’s move to table the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act, planning for long-term care is becoming part of the national conversation – and that presents opportunities and challenges for employers.
CLASS, part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act health care reform law, would have created a national voluntary insurance program to give working adults the opportunity to plan for future long-term care needs by providing a cash benefit. On Oct. 14, 2011, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) saying that “despite our best analytical efforts, I do not see a viable path forward [for CLASS.]” Among the reasons she cited in the letter was a lack of funding.
