Long-Term Care Commission Begins to Take Shape

Judith Stein

Judith Stein, Executive Director of the Center for Medicare Advocacy, has been named to the bipartisan Commission on Long-Term Care, which was created as a substitute for the canceled CLASS Act in the “fiscal cliff” budget deal worked out at the start of the year.  The 15-member Commission is responsible for developing a plan to establish, implement, and finance a comprehensive set of long-term care services for seniors and people with disabilities.  It is to recommend legislation in about five months.   

Three Commission members are appointed by the President and three each by the House and Senate majority and minority leaders.  Members were to have been named within one month of the budget bill’s enactment, which was January 1, 2013. 

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced Stein’s appointment on February 6, along with her two other choices: SCAN Foundation President Dr. Bruce Chernof, and activist and philanthropist George Vradenburg.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has appointed Judy Feder, a nationally recognized health policy expert and a professor at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute; Javaid Anwar, a Nevada physician; and Laphonza Butler, president of the United Long-Term Care Workers Union.

Other commission members will be named by President Barack Obama as well as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-OH).

Stein is a longtime member, Past President, and Fellow of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA). 

“I thank Leader Pelosi for this tremendous opportunity,” Stein said. “I look forward to bringing with me the voices and experiences of the thousands of individuals and families that the Center for Medicare Advocacy, and I serve as the Commission works to address the critical challenges facing people in need of long-term care.”

Charlie Sabatino, Director of the ABA Commission on Law and Aging, applauded Stein’s appointment to the Commission, saying, “Congratulations to Judy on her appointment and to Nancy Pelosi for having the wisdom to appoint the foremost and most tireless national advocate for Medicare beneficiaries to the new legislatively created Long-Term Care Commission – it is a cause for some real optimism in our future.”

The Commission’s mission and powers are described beginning on page 120 of the budget bill. 

Update: Judith Stein participated in a panel to "explore how to save Medicare" on the Feb. 8, 2013, edition of the PBS show "Need to Know."  For a tape and transcript, click here.