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WASHINGTON -- Senate health care legislation expected this week is likely to include a new long-term care insurance program to help the elderly and the disabled avoid going into nursing homes, Democratic officials say.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is expected to incorporate the voluntary program in legislation to be unveiled as early as Wednesday, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Known as the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act, or CLASS Act, the program was a top priority for the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass. It would begin to close a gap in the social safety net that's received little attention in the health care debate.
Fiscal conservatives and government economists have questioned whether the program would be financially sustainable over the long run, and insurance companies are lobbying to strip it from the health care bill.
Nonetheless, the House included the program in its legislation, with the approval of the Obama administration. In the Senate, the Health Committee bill included it, but the Finance Committee omitted it. The approach Reid is considering in a combined bill would address the objections of fiscal conservatives by stipulating that premiums from the program could not be counted in offsetting the cost of the broader health care bill. Reid's office had no comment Tuesday.
The cost of nursing homes averages $70,000 a year, and a home care attendant runs about $29 an hour. Medicare covers only temporary nursing home stays.
