Lifespan Respite Reauthorization Introduced to Support Family Caregivers

Last week, Representatives Jim Langevin (RI-2) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-5) introduced legislation to reauthorize the Lifespan Respite Care Program--a program enacted in 2006 to help support our nation’s 65 million family caregivers.

Up to one quarter of individuals living with MS will require long-term care services at some point during the course of the disease. Often, a family member steps into the role of primary caregiver, becoming part of the invaluable network of family caregivers that provide approximately 80% of this nation’s long-term care. Family caregivers allow people with MS or those living with other chronic conditions to remain in the home. Caregiving can be challenging however, and respite—or temporary relief from the daily routine and stress of providing care—is necessary to keep the caregiver and the family healthy.

The Lifespan Respite Care Program provides states with funding to establish or enhance statewide respite systems that improve access to quality respite care. The bipartisan legislation being championed by Representatives Langevin and McMorris Rodgers continues the program and its funding. November is National Family Caregiver Month, so whether you are a caregiver yourself or a member of the MS community, celebrate and support family caregivers by clicking here to email your U.S. Representative and urge him/her to cosponsor the Lifespan Respite Care Reauthorization Act, H.R. 3266.

Implementation of CLASS Program Suspended
The Obama Administration recently released a statement announcing that it does “not see a viable path forward” for the Community Assistance Living Services and Supports (CLASS) program, a provision of the Affordable Care Act. The intention of CLASS was to provide people with long-term care options, as well as to help relieve some of the significant burden currently on the Medicaid program, which has become the primary public source of funding for health and long-term services and supports for people with disabilities of all ages.

CLASS was intended to be a voluntary insurance program into which working adults could choose to make premium contributions through their employer or directly. If an individual were to develop functional limitations or cognitive impairments and had paid premiums for at least five years, s/he would receive a daily cash benefit to help purchase non-medical services and supports necessary to maintain community residence such as home health care, adult day care, assistive technology, and accessible transportation.

The law requires the program to be solvent for 75 years and particularly given the continued difficult fiscal climate that our country faces, the Administration has stated for months that it will not implement the program until it could be definitively classified as self-sustaining. After months of considering structural changes and actuaries crunching numbers to make the program self-sustaining, the Administration concluded it is not possible to achieve that goal at this time and therefore stopped efforts to implement the CLASS program. Earlier this week, Senator John Thune (SD) made a move to formally repeal the CLASS program, but the effort was blocked by Senator Jay Rockefeller (WV).

The National MS Society's health care reform principles called for access to high-quality long-term supports and services and as CLASS would help fulfill that goal, is a program that the Society and many other disability organizations advocated for as part of the Affordable Care Act. Though it has been determined that the CLASS program cannot be pursued at this time, with an expected surge in the aging and disabled population and a corresponding increased need for long-term care in our nation's future, it is critical to remain focused on developing fiscally sound, workable solutions to the United States' long-term care dilemma. The Society remains committed to collaborating with our partners in the disability community and key decision makers to ensure that people with disabilities and all individuals needing them have meaningful access to appropriate and affordable long-term services and supports.

Medicare Prescription Drug Open Enrollment – Act by December 7
If you receive prescription drug coverage through Medicare Part D, now is the time to review your coverage choices and change to another plan, if you desire. Medicare Part D’s Open Enrollment period moved up this year and began on October 15th and ends on December 7th. This is the only time you can switch Medicare prescription drug plans during the calendar year unless you manage to qualify for a special enrollment opportunity. Current enrollees facing any changes should have received an Annual Notice of Change from their plan highlighting any modifications to their premiums or out-of-pocket expenses, as well as updates to the formulary. If you did not receive such a notice, you have the right to request it from your plan. For more information about Open Enrollment, click here.

Follow Us on Twitter
The National MS Society Public Policy Office recently created its own Twitter account as another means by which to engage and inform the public. Please follow @MSActivist and help us spread the word!