Senate weighs program for long-term care, Dems say

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate health-care legislation expected this week is likely to include a new long-term care insurance program to help the elderly and the disabled avoid going into nursing homes, Democratic officials say.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is expected to incorporate the voluntary program in legislation to be unveiled as early as today, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because a final decision has not been made.

Known as the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act, or CLASS Act, the program was a top priority for the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass. It would begin to close a gap in the social safety net that’s received little attention in the health-care debate.

Fiscal conservatives and government economists have questioned whether the program would be financially sustainable over the long run, and insurance companies are lobbying to strip it from the health- care bill.

Nonetheless, the House included the program in its health-care legislation, with the approval of the Obama administration. In the Senate, the Health Committee bill had included it, but the Finance Committee omitted it.

The approach Reid is considering in a combined bill would address the objections of fiscal conservatives by stipulating that premiums from the program could not be counted in offsetting the cost of the broader health-care bill. Reid’s office had no comment Tuesday.

The cost of nursing homes averages $70,000 a year, and a home-care attendant runs about $29 an hour. Medicare covers only temporary nursing-home stays. Middle-class households have to exhaust their savings before an elder can qualify for nursing-home coverage through Medicaid.

Under the proposed program, people would pay a modest monthly premium during their working years. If they become disabled, they would get a cash benefit of at least $50 a day that could be used to pay a home-care attendant, buy supplies and equipment, make home improvements such as adding bathroom railings or defray the costs of nursing-home care.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the program would be fiscally solvent over a 75-year period with the income from premiums, and no taxpayer financing. That assumes an initial monthly premium averaging $123, and a $75 daily benefit. People would sign up for the program at work through a payroll deduction. They would have to pay premiums for five years before they could qualify for benefits. Both the premiums and benefits would be adjusted annually.

“This is primarily a product for baby boomers and people who are still working,” said James Firman, president of the National Council on Aging, and a supporter of the program. “If we don’t do this now, I don’t think boomers are going to get another chance.”