Health Care Reform Will Impact Long-Term Care

[Guest guest]

Health Care Reform Will Impact Long-Term Care

(March 26) -- As health care reform became the law of the land this week, a huge

bloc of Americans with a unique interest in the outcome sat watching on the

sidelines.

The 49 million people who care for older family members were hidden in plain

sight, as usual, quietly shouldering a burden that so often takes a heavy toll

on their finances and their physical and emotional well-being. Many of them -- I

know a few -- are opposed to the new health care law, even though it includes

one of the most important steps ever taken to improve caregivers' lot,

especially those of the middle-class persuasion. Of course, hardly any of them

are aware of that.

The Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act, otherwise known as

CLASS, provides for a national insurance program to help cover the cost of

long-term care -- something 70 percent of people over 65 will need at some point

along the way. The premiums will be much lower than those for private plans, and

you won't get screened out because you've already had some health problems. Once

vested after five years, enrollees unable to care for themselves will be able to

claim cash benefits for as long as needed.

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