One of the provisions of the president’s health care plan that helped to make the package fiscally palatable was the CLASS Act. It’s a program originally designed to allow people to pay a small amount monthly for a few years and then receive about $18,000 per year if they require long-term care in a nursing home or some other way. Last year, the Obama administration announced it was not implementing the program because it was no fiscally sound. But at the same time, Obama says he opposes its repeal. The fight comes to the House of Representatives on Wednesday, as GOP lawmakers try to repeal the provision. Most Democrats will defend it. Grace-Marie Turner of the Galen Institute joins us to explain how the CLASS Act originated, why it was deemed financially unfeasible and why there needs to be a repeal effort when it’s not being implemented right now.
