The new issue of the journal Public Policy & Aging Report that is focused on the CLASS Act. The edition’s title is, “Bringing CLASS to Long-Term Care Through the Affordable Care Act” and it includes articles from our own Barbara Manard, vice president of long-term health strategies, and from AAHSA board member Kathryn Roberts, CEO of Ecumen. The project was underwritten by the SCAN Foundation, a relatively new foundation that is doing great work bringing long-term services and supports to the forefront of policy discussions.
Barbara’s article, entitled, “Dueling Talking Points: Technical Issues in Constructing and Passing the CLASS Act,” recounts the history of the legislation and AAHSA’s role in shaping it. She does an artful job of explaining different objections to CLASS that were published and how the Congressional Budget Office scoring influenced the debate around CLASS.
Kathryn, in her article, discusses how the CLASS Act provides “a new paradigm for aging in America.” She urges employers, insurance companies and state governments to join the education campaign about CLASS and emphasizes how CLASS can help expand at-home services, technology adoption, intentional villages and disease management.
These two articles and the others in the journal combine to document the history of the CLASS Act and offer perspectives on what the future might hold when CLASS is implemented. It is a must-read for all of us who care about making it affordable to care