A bill authored by Rep. Charles Boustany (R- La.) to remove the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act from the books passed the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday with a vote of 267-159.
H.R. 1173, the Fiscal Responsibility and Retirement Security Act of 2011, would enact a clean repeal of this ill-fated government-run, long-term care entitlement program, originally signed into law as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).
The Obama administration halted implementation of the CLASS program in October 2011 after deeming it unworkable under a requirement that the program be actuarially sound over 75 years. The parameters of the program were such that only those who were already in need of benefits would likely be attracted to apply, causing premiums to rise to the point where healthy individuals would be discouraged from enrolling—a classic case of adverse selection. This would inevitably lead to insolvency and the need for infusions of taxpayer dollars.
Even though the plug has been pulled on implementation, many worry that the CLASS Act could be resurrected at a later date by this or some other administration.
Ostensibly, this could happen whether the administration wants it to or not. The non-partisan Congressional Research Service (CRS) recently published a report stating that if the program is left on the books, a plaintiff could have standing to bring suit in court to force the administration to restart implementation of the program any time after the original enrollment period of October 2012. The purpose of H.R. 1173 is to prevent this or any other scenario where the program is restarted.
Its passage by the House is a legislative accomplishment for the Big “I” and other groups battling against the government involvement this program represents. However, Senate passage is unlikely at this point because the companion bill, S. 720, the Repeal the CLASS Entitlement Act, by Senator John Thune (R-S.D.), has no Democratic co-sponsors.