No Touch of Class
The Community Living Assistance Service and Support (CLASS) Act, recently passed by Congress, is ObamaCare’s Long Term Care (LTC) insurance program that forces employers to automatically enroll workers, who then have the right to opt out.
The benefits will be meager ($50 minimum and $75 average benefit per day) and the premiums high (estimated by CBO at $123 per month). So why would anyone want to enroll? Because there will be no medical underwriting. If the sickest segment of the population, unable to get LTC coverage elsewhere, can pay premiums for five years (total around $7,500) while retaining some connection to the workforce for three years, they can get a yearly benefit worth $18,000 to 27,000 per year. The Medicare Chief Actuary has raised series doubts about whether the program is sustainable — as does consulting firm Towers Watson and the American Academy of Actuaries.
The finances are pay-as-you-go, with initial revenues immediately spent on other programs — just like Social Security and Medicare.
This is obviously one more Ponzi scheme.
This is unbelievably irresponsible.
Bernie Madoff couldn’t have designed it better.
In fact, this is a totally classless act.
This article is misnamed. It should be titled, “Touch of Evil.”
It’s easy to imagine a scenario where people, especially those with mobility problems, health begin to fail as they approaching retirement. Sensing the problem, many could essentially game the system and use this plans as a way to pay for living assistance in retirement. When it inevitably fails, there will be clamoring for taxpayer subsidies.
I’m always shocked when people think that pay-as-you-go systems are acceptable.
We look at a person that’s living paycheck to paycheck and shake our heads. We see our government do it, and somehow that’s ok.
And, the implications for gaming the system on this one are huge. The question is: When there are more people opting out than paying in, will Obama mandate coverage?