Republicans blasted off a letter to Department of Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius yesterday amid rumors that HHS had shut down the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) program.
"… media reports today indicate that the HHS Administration on Aging (AOA) is closing the CLASS office. The Administration has denied that the office is being closed, but an employee of the office confirmed that the employees are being reassigned," reads the letter to Sebelius. "The public has a right to know what is happening to this office, whether HHS intends to implement the CLASS program, and if so, who is going to do the work."
Various national media agencies began broadcasting the news yesterday that Bob Yee, the actuary of the CLASS program, notified his colleagues by email that he was leaving his post because HHS had decided to close down the CLASS office effective Friday morning.
CLASS, a voluntary long-term care insurance program for workers created by the Affordable Care Act, has been under fire from congressional members. Last February, Sebelius testified before the Senate Finance Committee, saying the entitlement program was unsustainable and that the program would not be started unless it could be proven to be self-sustaining.
[See also: Medicare, Medicaid, CLASS in crosshairs of 'Gang of Six' deficit plan.]
The Washington Post reported that HHS said in a statement issued in response to the rumors of the closing of the CLASS office that the office's staff has been reduced but that the office is not being closed and that HHS is still evaluating the program's viability.
Follow HFN associate editor Stephanie Bouchard on Twitter @SBouchardHFN.