TheHonorable Charles Boustany, Jr.
United States House of Representatives
1117 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative Boustany:
On behalf of the 362,000members of the National Taxpayers Union (NTU), I write to offer our support forH.R. 5853, your Fiscal Responsibility and Retirement Security Act. Thislegislation would educate Americans on the importance of reconsideringimplementation of the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS)Act, so as to protect taxpayers from the potential liabilities of this massive,new entitlement program.
The CLASS Act remains one of thelargest, and least discussed, budget gimmicks in the Patient Protection andAffordable Care Act. It would create a national long-term-care (LTC) insuranceprogram, whereby employees could opt in and pay a premium that would then go tofinance benefits for individuals who qualify for LTC. While supporters haveportrayed this program as one that will generate huge surpluses and result inno burdens to taxpayers, this could not be further from the truth whenconsidering its long-term effects. Participants would be required to pay fiveyears’ worth of premiums before becoming eligible for payouts, which leads usto believe that any initial surpluses would start to steadily decline after2016. In the legislation’s finding, the Medicare Actuary projects that deficitswill occur regularly after 2025, thereby making way for a possibletaxpayer-subsidized bailout.
Your legislation includes criticalsafeguards for taxpayers and initiates a much-needed conversation on an issuethat was largely overlooked during the health care debate. More specifically,H.R. 5853 would do the following:
- Require theHealth and Human Services Secretary to report to Congress on the final CLASSplan and its long-term soundness;
- Preventthe implementation of a final CLASS plan unless it is passed by two-thirds inboth the House and Senate;
- Informconsumers of financial risks prior to enrollment;
- Prohibitthe collection of premiums during the promulgation of final regulations; and
- SunsetCLASS if its structure becomes actuarially unsound within a 75-year period.
Given thedismal economic climate, we cannot afford to further saddle American taxpayerswith an unsustainable entitlement program that will add to the ever-growing $13trillion debt. We commend your efforts and pledge to work with youon this important package to make certain it becomes law. Any roll call voteson H.R. 5853 will be significantly weighted in NTU’s annual Rating of Congress.
Sincerely,
Jordan Forbes
FederalGovernment Affairs Manager