What Is the CLASS Act Doing in a Deficit-Cutting Package?

Excerpt from Elder Law Answers Blog: (click for entire article)

We all know that President Obama and Congressional Republicans are locked in a battle over raising the nation’s debt limit. Republicans are refusing to agree to a rise (something they approved many times during the Bush Administration) without trillions of dollars in spending cuts. President Obama says he is willing to make some significant cuts but he wants them accompanied by a hike in taxes on the rich and corporations, something Republican hard-liners will not accept.

Along comes the “Gang of Six,” three Democratic and three Republican senators who have hammered out a compromise deficit-cutting proposal that is gaining some traction and that the President has praised in principle. But listed among the cuts the Gang would make is the CLASS Act, the late Sen. Edward Kennedy’s final legislative initiative. Enacted as part of the health reform law, CLASS is on track to set up a voluntary, self-funded national long-term care insurance program that will help millions of American families cope with their own impending financial crisis – caring for frail elderly parents and other disabled relatives.