CLASS Act: Madoff Would Be Proud
Buried deep within the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a little-noticed program called the CLASS Act. This new program will provide a cash benefit for certain disabled persons to help them with their long-term care needs—and will directly compete with existing private-market insurance offerings. Unlike other federal entitlements, CLASS is supposed to be voluntary and self-financing, with no federal subsidies. However, the program as currently designed is unsound and appears doomed to add to the federal deficit within the next 15 to 20 years. Taxpayer intervention will likely be needed.
- Obamacare includes a new long-term care entitlement called CLASS that masks health care reform’s full costs.
- CLASS will add to federal deficits within 15-20 years.
- It is financially unsustainable due to poor design.
- Fixing it will require premium hikes, benefit cuts, and/or mandatory participation.
