In a letter to committee members, ACLI President and CEO Frank Keating said the daily benefit proposed in the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act was insufficient. Under, the CLASS Act, program participants would pay a monthly premium set annually by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. In exchange, participants would receive a benefit for long-term care services of $50 per day. In marked contrast, the cost of a nursing home currently averages $75,000 annually and home health services can run as high as $46 per hour, Keating noted.
“ACLI supports the goal of the CLASS program to help adults with severe functional impairments obtain the services and supports they need to maintain their independence, while providing them with choices about community participation, education and employment,” Keating wrote. “However, because the benefits provided under the CLASS Act will not adequately protect Americans who are truly in need of long-term care, and we are concerned about the confusion that would be created by offering a government-sponsored long-term care program, the ACLI does not support the CLASS provisions as adopted as part of the HELP Committee’s legislation.
