New Report Shows Sec. Sebelius is Overstepping Her Authority

Brian Blase / April 05, 2011

One negative provision of Obamacare is back in congressional crosshairs. The CLASS (Community Living Assistance Services and Support) Program, a new long-term care entitlement, has already endured withering criticism. In July 2009, the American Academy of Actuaries released a blistering report on its structural flaws. Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND), Chairman of the Budget Committee, referred to CLASS as a Ponzi scheme during the Obamacare debate. And more recently, President Obama’s deficit commission recommended repealing or significantly revamping the program.

Secretary Sebelius has repeatedly asserted that CLASS is unsustainable. She has advocated repeal if CLASS can’t be reformed. It appears likely that the Obama Administration knew the program was fiscally unsustainable before Obamacare became law, and included it in the health care law only as a mechanism to reduce the price tag of the bill. Now, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius is asserting power that Congress did not grant her in a futile attempt to remake the program into something sustainable. (more…)