Flying beneath the Radar of Health Reform: The Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act

Autor/in	Miller, Edward Alan
Titel	Flying beneath the Radar of Health Reform: The Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act
Quelle	In: Gerontologist, 51 (2011) 2, S.145-155 (11 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0016-9013
DOI	10.1093/geront/gnq113
Schlagwörter	Risk; Federal Government; Patients; Health Services; Health Care Costs; Health Insurance; Access to Health Care; Federal Legislation + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Risiko; Bundesregierung; Patient; Health service; Gesundheitsdienst; Gesundheitswesen; Krankenversicherung; Bundesrecht
Abstract	The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act attempts to address prevailing deficiencies in long-term care (LTC) financing through the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act, a national voluntary LTC insurance program administered by the Federal government. The CLASS Act is intended to supplement rather than supplant assistance received from other payers. Furthermore, its reliance on a cash benefit allocated by beneficiaries with the assistance of counseling services makes it consistent with the consumer-directed philosophy increasingly favored by the LTC advocacy community. Largely due to inadequate take-up, however, particularly among better than average risks, it is unlikely that implementation of the CLASS Act will fundamentally alter the current public-private partnership for LTC financing. Instead, voluntary enrollment combined with a lack of medical underwriting could lead to disproportionate numbers of high-cost enrollees. This could result in premium increases that further discourage participation on the part of the broader population. Barring making the program mandatory, there are a number of comparatively minor changes policymakers could make to strengthen the risk pool, though doing so will involve a trade-off between attracting better-off risks while eschewing those likely to need the benefit most. Thus, although the CLASS Act may provide a meaningful benefit for those who enroll, its impact on improving the affordability of LTC for most Americans will likely be limited. Most will continue to rely on substantial unpaid care, out-of-pocket payments when formal care is required, and Medicaid when all other money has run out. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10