Health Reform Provides New “CLASS Act” – Basic Details
There’s a lot to try to understand about the newest health care bill signed into law this past March. There are a lot of provisions in the act, and all of them will affect every American citizen in one way or another. The Class Act (Community Living Assistance Services and Supports program) is one of the provisions in the bill. Here’s a brief overview of the basic details of this act.
CLASS Act
The CLASS Act is a national, voluntary insurance program that is designed to provide cash benefits if you have a disability or some form of limitation in your ability to function. The idea is to provide a way for individuals who fall into this category a way to help pay for their long-term care services.
Eligibility Requirements for CLASS Act
The plan will mostly be offered by employers and paid for by employees. Self-employed individuals may also enroll in the plan. You may enroll in the act if you meet the following criteria.
- If you are actively at work
- If you are 18 years or older
- If you are not living in a nursing home or a long-term care facility at the time of your enrollment.
You cannot be excluded from the plan if you have a pre-existing condition.
Benefits of the CLASS Act
Once you have paid into the plan for 5 years you are eligible to receive cash benefits if you have a functional impairment or disability that is expected to last more than 90 days, if you have a significant cognitive impairment such as Alzheimer’s or if you will need substantial assistance with at least 2 daily activities of daily living that is a direct result of your impairment.
Tags: benefits, care, class act, health, healthcare
July 3rd, 2010 at 9:59 am
The CLASS Act’s $50 per day “average benefit” will only cover a small portion of the $75,000+ per year most Americans pay for in-home care. Most people who want to protect their savings will still need to purchase long-term care insurance–especially Long-Term Care Partnership policies.
One of the biggest problems we face is that most Americans still think that Medicare or their medical insurance covers the cost of long term care.
The CLASS Act addresses this problem by making a very clear statement: You have to pay for your own long term care. You either have to use your savings, the $50 per day CLASS Act benefit, LTC insurance, or a combination of these.
Most of the 10 million Americans who own LTC insurance own it because they’ve seen family spend down their assets before qualifying for Medicaid. The CLASS Act will help alert the rest of the country to the fact that they need to plan for their future long term care needs.
Scott A. Olson
LTCInsuranceShopper.com