McCain and Kyl Bid to Kill Grandma Provision for Long-Term Care Fails in Senate
WASHINGTON
(AP)
December
5, 2009 —
The
Senate
on
Friday
turned
back a
Republican
effort
to
eliminate
a
long-term-care
insurance
program
to help
seniors
and the
disabled,
saving
the plan
once
championed
by the
late
Sen.
Edward
Kennedy,
D-Mass.,
in its
health-overhaul
bill.
But the
vote
exposed
the
difficulties
Democratic
leaders
face in
persuading
their
own
moderates
to
remain
united
behind
sweeping
legislation
they
hope to
deliver
to
President
Barack
Obama.
Eleven
Democrats
voted
with
Republicans,
who
warned
that the
new
program
would
turn
into a
drain on
the
federal
budget.
The GOP
votes
included
Arizona
Sens.
John
McCain
and Jon
Kyl.
Republicans
fell
short in
a bid to
strike
the
long-term-care
plan on
a 51-47
vote.
They
needed
60 votes
to
prevail.
Two
leading
Democrats
who
shaped
the
health-care
bill,
Finance
Committee
Chairman
Max
Baucus
of
Montana
and
Budget
Committee
Chairman
Kent
Conrad
of North
Dakota,
voted
with the
GOP -
underscoring
the
gravity
of the
fiscal
concerns.
Known as
the
CLASS
Act,
short
for
Community
Living
Assistance
Services
and
Supports
Act, the
idea was
originally
pushed
by
Kennedy,
a
liberal
who
pursued
the goal
of
health
care for
all
through
decades
in
public
service
until
his
death
from
brain
cancer
in
August.
Workers
would
pay a
modest
monthly
premium
during
their
careers
into the
voluntary
program.
If they
became
disabled,
they
would
get a
cash
benefit
of at
least
$50 a
day.
That can
help pay
for a
home-care
attendant;
for
supplies
and
equipment;
to make
home
improvements,
such as
new
bathroom
railings;
or to
defray
nursing-home
costs.
The
House
passed a
version
of the
plan,
and the
Obama
administration
supports
it.
Sen.
John
Thune,
R-S.D.,
who led
the
effort
to cut
the
CLASS
Act,
said
that it
would
add
another
unaffordable
commitment
to a
government
already
swamped
with
debt and
that
taxpayers
would
eventually
get the
bill.
"The
CLASS
Act is
the same
old
Washington,
same old
smoke
and
mirrors,
same old
games,"
Thune
said.
"We are
locking
in
future
generations
to
deficits
and
debts as
far as
the eye
can
see."
But Sen.
Chris
Dodd,
D-Conn.,
said the
Congressional
Budget
Office
projects
the
program
to be
fiscally
sound
for 75
years,
without
taxpayer
bailouts.
As a
further
safeguard,
the
Senate
voted to
ensure
funds
collected
under
the plan
would be
used
only to
pay out
benefits
and not
to cover
other
government
obligations.
"It is a
solid
program
that can
make a
huge
difference
for
millions
of
Americans,
allowing
them to
lead
independent
lives
with
dignity,"
Dodd
said.
Supporters
said the
program
would
begin to
fill a
yawning
hole in
the
social-safety
net. The
cost of
nursing-home
care
averages
$70,000
a year,
and a
home-care
attendant
runs
about
$29 an
hour.
Medicare
covers
only
temporary
nursing-home
stays.
Middle-class
households
have to
exhaust
their
savings
before a
senior
can
qualify
for
Medicaid
nursing-home
coverage.
Separately,
in a
57-41
vote,
the
Senate
turned
back a
Republican
effort
to
restore
$120
billion
in cuts
to
Medicare
Advantage,
the
private-insurance
plan
that
provides
seniors
with
better
benefits.
Democrats
say the
government
is
wasting
money
overpaying
the
plans.
The list
of
Democrats
who
crossed
the
aisle to
vote
against
the
CLASS
Act was
a roll
call of
moderates
whom
Majority
Leader
Harry
Reid, D-Nev.,
desperately
needs to
beat
back
Republican
filibusters
and get
a final
bill off
the
Senate
floor.
Among
them was
Sen. Joe
Lieberman,
the
Connecticut
independent.
A dozen
or so
political
moderates
hold the
fate of
the bill
in their
hands,
and they
disagree
on two
key
issues:
abortion
coverage
and a
government
health-insurance
plan.
Reid
needs 60
votes to
win the
last
round.
He has
60
senators
in the
Democratic
caucus,
and some
have
already
said
they
can't
support
the bill
as it
stands
now.
As
senators
prepared
to
debate
into the
weekend,
it was
hard to
see how
Reid
would
put
together
a
winning
combination.
Lieberman
and
Nebraska
Sen. Ben
Nelson
are
among
the
Democrats
who have
demanded
concessions
in
exchange
for
their
votes.
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