Health Care Reform Means More Options for Long Term Care

After all the buzz about the Health Care Reform laws, most people do not know about the CLASS Act - a piece of the Health Care Reform puzzle that will make paying for long term care just a little easier.

The CLASS Act - Community Living Assistance Service and Support Act - is a new program that will allow you to design a portion of your paycheck to go into savings account for long term care.

Managed by the Department of Health and Human Services, you'll become eligible for financial assistance after a vesting period of five years.

Unlike Social Security, participation in this program is completely optional, although you'll be automatically enrolled by your employer. You'll have to opt-out if you do not want to participate.

Actual premiums and benefits are still being determined, but it's expected that the program will initially pay a cash benefit of about $ 50 per day to offset the costs of long term care.

The program is scheduled to launch in 2011.

For those of you already in need of long-term care assistance, the new Health Care Reform Law also expanded Medicaid, a government-assistance program that coverage most nursing home expenses.

These new guidelines will provide Medicaid coverage to many seniors who have not been able to qualify in the past, making it easier to pay for long-term care.

The new law also provides provisions to less the gap under Medicare Part D by requiring drug manufacturers to offer a 50% discount on drugs for Part D participants. This discount went into effect as of July 1, 2010.