ATRA (American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012) was signed into law by President Obama on January 2 after being passed by both the House and Senate the previous day. The CLASS Act, a part of PPACA, was vigorously opposed by several groups due to lack of guarantees that the program could be sustainable without federal support and/or additional mandatory contributions by members of the private work sector. Section 642 of ATRA formally repealed the CLASS Act.

ATRA passed a section that calls for the creation of a special Long-Term Care Commission. The proposed commission will include representatives from LTCi providers, family caregivers, healthcare workers and LTC services users.

Included among the commission members are to be persons who have “demonstrated experience in dealing with public and private insurance”. Exactly how people will be considered for serving on the commission is still unknown. The only compensation, as currently understood, will be to have commission-related travel expenses reimbursed.

Commission members, within six months after being appointed, will be charged with developing recommendations for creating “a comprehensive, coordinated, and high quality” LTC system.

If the majority of commission members approve a set of recommendations, both the House and Senate majority leaders are to introduce bills to their respective entities for consideration.

It is a relief to have CLASS officially overturned.