"Mr. Kennedy's final bequest" - CLASS Act- the first national plan for long-term care insurance.

[quiet.american]

I think this is one of the great items that was included in the final HCR bill. Being single, I'm anticipating that I will pretty much be on my own as I grow elderly; this will be a great buffer to have when that day comes. Below are excerpts from a good NYT Q&A on it.

"The New Old Age" has been following the Class Act, the first national plan for long-term care insurance, since last summer, but the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy and his staff began working on the current version of this plan in 2003. It was tucked into the Democrats’ health care legislation and thus, without much public attention, became law last month. Call it Mr. Kennedy’s final bequest.

Because there’s a lot to say about the Class Act and its future, I’ll tackle the subject in two parts, today and on Monday. Here goes.

Q.Who’s eligible to enroll?

A.The simplest answer: Working people. Not people who’ve already retired (unless they continue to work part-time). Not nonworking spouses. Not the unemployed. Participants have to pay premiums for five years, the so-called vesting period, before they can receive benefits, and they have to continue working for three of those five.

Part-time workers are eligible. As currently written, the law requires part-timers to earn enough annually to pay Social Security taxes, a threshold that’s now at about $1,200. The self-employed and anyone whose employer declines to offer Class coverage — it’s optional— will be able sign up through a yet-to-be-determined mechanism.

more at the link:
http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/29/details-on-the-class-act/

[Cha]

1. This is interesting the way, Paula Span, of New Old Age

lays out the questions and the answers to "Teddy's final bequest".

Thanks for posting q.amercian..Looks like this would be a more economically feasible way to provide for one's health insurance as a working American which she will go into next week.

[quiet.american]

2. Cha, before HCR, I often wondered what would be my insurance options as I get older.

This is one of those things that helps me lose less sleep over that.

If I get to a point where I need home health aides (even if it's before I'm an official senior citizen), the fact that there is a program where that cost can be subsidized...all I can say is, thank you, Ted Kennedy, and all those who worked their butts off for this.

[Cha]

3. Here's to both our good health..

Forever:toast: Might as well go for the gold! First Lady Michelle Obama certainly is trying to encourage Americans to be healthy with her organic garden at the White House, her anti-obesity program, and moving is the best medicine.:bounce:

Dance,dance, dance!

[quiet.american]

4. Cheers to that!

:toast:

[Hekate]

5. I'm emailing that to Mr Hekate; we're both 63 this year and he's still working