Earlier this month, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius conceded what critcs and independent actuaries have been saying for years about Obamacare’s long-term care program: “I do not see a viable path forward for CLASS implementation at this time.” But at a congressional hearing today on the failed program, Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., scolded HHS for its negativity.
“I refuse to give up on CLASS just as I refuse to give up on health care reform,” Pallone said in his opening statement at a hearing held by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. “I’m tired of the Republican rhetoric that says Congress and government in general can’t do anything. And, I certainly don’t think that HHS should play into the same theme.”
He went on to say that, “I suggest that the Department go back to the drawing board, be optimistic and come up with a plan that implements CLASS.”
But viewing things through rose-tinted glasses won’t change reality.
The problem, as HHS came to recognize, is that the basic structure of the CLASS program is unworkable. The idea was for a self-sustaining program in which individuals pay out premiums and receive benefits down the road. But models showed that there was no realistic scenario under which the program would attract enough participants to keep the program sustainable over time.
Pallone was a leading champion of the CLASS Act in Congress, having introduced it along with the late Sen. Ted Kennedy.
