Long-Term Care Program Gets the Ax

White House Decides One Part of Health-Overhaul Law Would Prove Too Costly
OCTOBER 14, 2011
By LOUISE RADNOFSKY

The Obama administration said Friday it wouldn't implement a long-term care insurance program that is part of the 2010 health overhaul, its first major reversal on its signature domestic achievement.

The program, known as the Class Act, was included in the law to help Americans cover the cost of aid for daily living needs such as bathing and using the toilet if they became unable to care for themselves. Mounting concerns that the program was too costly over the long run prompted officials at the Department of Health and Human Services to re-examine the program in recent months.
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The program was projected to generate tens of billions of dollars of revenue in its early years, when it was taking in premiums and paying out little in claims. But over time, its obligation to pay out claims was projected to exceed that revenue.