Sharing Stories With Lawmakers About the Need for Long Term Services
With the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or ACA, came the creation of a national, voluntary insurance program for purchasing community living services and supports known as the
Community Living Assistance Services and Supports program (CLASS Act).
CLASS is designed to help individuals with functional and/or cognitive limitations remain in the community by purchasing non-medical services and supports such as home healthcare and adult day care. It is structured to help offset the costs and has the potential to reduce reliance on Medicaid and provide relief for family caregivers.
To help promote CLASS and support those who require these services to stay in the community, national organizations that serve the aging and disability communities formed an independent advocacy organization call Advance CLASS Inc. Among its charter members are: Assisted Living Federation of America and LeadingAge.
Advance CLASS, Inc. is piloting an initiative called "A Day in My Life." Advance CLASS notes that studies and statistics are important, but the stories behind them are even more powerful. They transform numbers into names and facts into faces.
They are gathering stories from families and communities to demonstrate to lawmakers the need for a comprehensive financing strategy for long term services and supports.
Two videos titled "There must be a better way" can be seen from the Advance CLASS homepage. Perhaps you have residents who can share their stories, too.