EWA Letter to Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) to support the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Program
July 22, 2011
Senator Harry Reid
Majority Leader
522 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Majority Leader Reid,
The Eldercare Workforce Alliance (EWA), a coalition of 28 national organizations committed to person-centered team care for older adults, urges Congress to support the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) program and oppose its repeal in any deficit reduction legislation.
The CLASS program was established as an alternative means of financing long-term services and supports. By establishing a new voluntary national insurance program, the CLASS program will enable older people who have or who may develop functional impairments to remain independent and residing in their homes and communities.
Long-term services and supports currently are financed mostly by Medicaid or out-of-pocket spending by individuals, or provided by family members and friends caring for their loved ones. As was revealed in the just-released AARP Public Policy Institute study, “Valuing the Invaluable: The Growing Contributions and Costs of Family Caregiving, 2011 Update,” unpaid care by family and friends, worth approximately $450 billion annually, represents more than twice the value of formal paid long-services and supports. In addition to the economic value of the hours spent caregiving, caregivers to persons 50 or older reported spending an average of $5,531 out-of-pocket in 2007, with long-distance caregivers averaging $8,728 annually. This problem will become severe as baby boomers age and are expected to have fewer family caregivers available to support them.
Medicaid is the principal payer for long-term services and supports, covering more than 60 percent of such spending. The CLASS program could reduce reliance on Medicaid, positively impacting federal and state budgets. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that CLASS would reduce the federal deficit by $83 billion over the first ten years, including savings to Medicaid. Therefore, eliminating CLASS would be counterproductive in efforts to reduce the federal budget.
Congress and the Administration must resist the temptation to balance the budget through harmful cuts to or elimination of long-term care programs that pay for or will pay for vital care for older adults. The Eldercare Workforce Alliance urges members of Congress to support budget solutions that do not harm our frailest and most vulnerable citizens.
Sincerely,
Steven L. Dawson Nancy E. Lundebjerg
EWA Co-convener EWA Co-convener
President Chief Operating Officer
PHI – Quality Care through Quality Jobs American Geriatrics Society
