House votes to repeal CLASS Act — A part of the 2010 health law

Feb 3 2012

The GOP-led push to repeal this long-term care insurance program, which the Obama administration already made clear it would not implement, drew some Democratic votes. During floor speeches, Republican lawmakers cast it as a barrier to achieving a real reform.

The Associated Press: House Votes To Repeal Part Of 2010 Health Care Law
The Republican-led House on Wednesday voted to repeal a financially troubled part of the 2010 health care law that was designed to provide affordable long-term care insurance. The House vote comes months after the Obama administration suspended the Community Living Assistance Services and Support program, known as the CLASS Act (Abrams, 2/1).

The Hill: Republicans Paint Health Law's CLASS Act as Obstacle To Long-Term-Care Reform
House Republicans on Wednesday urged Democrats to repeal a major provision of the health care reform law by painting it as an obstacle to long-term-care reform. In floor speeches before the repeal vote Wednesday evening, several GOP lawmakers suggested Democrats were hurting just the people they claim to want to help by clinging on to the CLASS Act. Republicans say the Obama administration has acknowledged the program doesn't work, and that keeping it on the books merely delays real reform (Pecquet, 2/1).

Reuters: House Votes To Repeal Part Of Health Care Law
The House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to repeal a provision of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul setting up a home-care program for the elderly and disabled that regulators said was unworkable. The Republican-led House voted 267-159 for the bill that would terminate the Community Living Assistance Services(CLASS) Act that was supposed to create a voluntary insurance program to help the elderly and disabled pay for home care (Smith, 2/1).

Roll Call: Health Care Law Stuck In Limbo
House Republicans on Wednesday took a symbolic swipe at President Barack Obama's health care reform law when they voted to repeal its long-term care provisions, the CLASS Act, which the administration abandoned last year as unworkable. But conservative critics of the law shouldn't hold their breath in anticipation of further votes between now and when the Supreme Court begins hearing oral arguments on the law next month. It was only the latest GOP swipe at the law. ... Although repeal efforts and their attendant votes remain popular with conservatives, they are less so with average voters, and Republicans are instead waiting for the high court to begin proceedings next month. A decision is expected by June (Brady, 2/2).

Politico Pro: House Passes CLASS Act Repeal
The House on Wednesday voted to repeal the CLASS act -; with the support of several moderate Democrats -; in the latest attempt to take apart a piece of President Barack Obama's health care law. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Charles Boustany (R-La.), passed 267-159, with the support of 28 Democrats. No Republicans opposed the bill. The provision would have established a long-term health insurance program, but the Obama administration determined that there was no way to ensure it was fiscally solvent. HHS announced late last year that it would not be implemented (Haberkorn, 2/1).

Bloomberg: House Repeals Long-Term Care Program Obama Viewed As Too Costly
The U.S. House repealed a long-term care insurance program created by the 2010 health care law that the Obama administration decided was too costly to put in place. The 267-159 vote sends the bill to the Senate, where Democrats don't plan to bring it up. The program, known as the Class Act, was proposed by the late Senator Edward Kennedy, the Massachusetts Democrat who died in August 2009 before passage of the law. "While the goals of the program are worthy, good intentions don't make up for fundamentally flawed, actuarially unsound policies designed to show the illusion of savings," Pennsylvania Republican Joe Pitts, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce health subcommittee, said during yesterday's floor debate (Wayne, 2/2).