Why Canceling CLASS Should Make Us More Confident About Health Care Reform (Washington Post)

The Obama administration’s decision to cancel the CLASS Act last Friday left many people relieved at the honest assessment of what surely would have been a financial disaster. It also left many wondering just what this means for the rest of the PPACA. Are other provisions, like CLASS, doomed to failure?

From the start, the structure of CLASS was suspect: It front-loaded its savings and back-loaded its costs. So, it was good news when HHS agreed to accept a challenge from Sen. Judd Gregg, a New Hampshire Republican who left office earlier this year, to develop “an actuarially-sound premium.” This gave the Obama administration the ability to cancel the clause in the name of fiscal responsibility, which they ultimately did.