How do we care for the elderly?

Last week, the Obama administration dropped one of the signature provisions of its health care plan. The Class Act (Community Living Assistance Services) was intended to provide affordable insurance for long-term care to individuals who, because of infirmity or age, could no longer care for themselves. But the reality that not enough healthy Americans would sign up to make it self-supporting finally doomed the program.

Many opponents of Obamacare will no doubt cheer this turn of events because it confirms the view that we cannot afford to, in essence, nationalize health care. I agree — but I also recognize that the problem that the Class Act was trying to address is a legitimate concern for which we now have no workable solutions.