The Word is Getting Out on CLASS

Kudos to the Diane Rehm Show on WAMU for focusing a full hour on the creation of a national long-term care insurance program.  After months of struggling to get the attention of the press on what the creation of the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) plan will mean for Americans, it is so rewarding to hear Diane Rehm taking on this issue.  Her show is often the barometer for an issue’s relevancy in opinion leaders’ and the public’s minds.

Additional kudos go to Jim Firman of the National Council on Aging, who appeared on the show.  He directly challenged Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) Actuary Rick Foster on the assumptions Foster used in his analysis of the potential take-up rate for CLASS. Firman also had a letter to the editor published in today’s Washington Post.

Trying to estimate how many people will opt-out of the program is the core question for predicting whether CLASS can be solvent.  The Congressional Budget Office, Congress’s official scorekeeper, estimates a much higher take-up rate than Foster does.

We continue to work with our partners to educate the press, Congress and the public about the CLASS provisions and what they will mean for individuals, families and caregivers.

Stay tuned for more media reports as we get the word out.