Democrats Object to Eliminating a Ponzi Scheme
In case you weren’t watching the floor a few minutes ago, Sen. Rockefeller objected to a unanimous consent request to take up and pass a repeal of the CLASS Act Ponzi scheme. What’s almost as interesting is WHY Sen. Rockefeller said he objected to such a move. He claimed that the process by which some individuals take actions to enroll in Medicaid long-term care was “the humiliation of Americans” and a “sorry” process.
But if enrolling in Medicaid represents a “humiliation” and is a “sorry” process, then why did Sen. Rockefeller and his Democrat colleagues vote to EXPAND Medicaid to tens of millions more Americans as part of Obamacare? Sen. Rockefeller previously said he was “sad” that Obamacare didn’t expand Medicaid even further it did, and earlier this year organized a letter objecting to Republican attempts to reform and modernize the broken program. Yet today he objected to removing a “totally unsustainable” program, on the grounds that the alternative* – relying on Medicaid for long-term care coverage – represents a “humiliation” for poor people.
America needs serious solutions to tackling the problems of long-term care, and reforming our unsustainable entitlements. But the CLASS Act is not the proper solution for the former, and Obamacare’s massive entitlement expansion – putting more people in a very leaky Medicaid rowboat – will only exacerbate the latter.
* Republicans would argue that there are other long-term care alternatives available, such as private coverage, and alternatives to the CLASS Act as well. But Sen. Rockefeller’s comments implied the only option was Medicaid or CLASS – a distinction many would argue represents a false choice.