From the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL), October 26, 2009
The Senate continues to merge the Health Education Labor and Pensions (HELP) and Finance Committee bills in to one, in the hopes that it will next go to the Senate Floor for debate, amendments, and a vote. The participants in that process are Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus, and Senator Chris Dodd, Acting Chair when the bill was introduced to the HELP Committee.
Over the course of the last week, the insurance industry and some high ranking Senators have been actively working against the CLASS Act. They have spread misleading information about it in an attempt to get it stripped from the final bill. We must reach out to our Senators now to build solid support and put those who oppose the CLASS Act in their place: working for the American people. The CFC Option has not yet faced the same opposition, but if we lose the CLASS Act in the Senate, the CFC will become the next target.
Act Now: Call your U.S. Senators and tell them to support the Community First Choice Option and CLASS Act as part of the final Senate Healthcare Reform Bill! It is extremely important that both of these reforms make it into the final legislation.
In the House of Representatives, the merge process is near completion. It is expected that the House will soon release more information, including the status of the CLASS Act and the Community First Choice Option. The Energy and Commerce Committee included a “shell” of the CLASS Act in their version of the legislation and we are currently waiting to see whether the work of our members successfully achieved inclusion of the CFC Option in the final House bill. Since the Senate has maintained the provision, the House may follow suit.