GOP to Obama: What Took So Long to Kill Insurance Plan?

(Newser) – The Obama administration's decision to scrap a key part of its health care reform is not going to slip quietly away. House Republicans will make sure of it. The Energy and Commerce panel has scheduled a hearing for later this month on the now-shelved CLASS Act, reports the Hill. The GOP's take: This long-term insurance program never made financial sense, a fact that the administration knew all along but ignored to take advantage of its projected $86 billion in deficit savings over 10 years.

That amount represents about 40% of the Obama plan's total projected savings over the decade, which could make it easier for Republicans to make the case for repeal, notes the Hill. "Make no mistake," said the GOP's Fred Upton, "the CLASS program was tucked into the health care law to provide $86 billion in false savings, and this budget gimmick is a prime example of why Americans are losing faith in Washington." Consumer advocates, meanwhile, are angry that the White House has given up on the promised program once championed by Ted Kennedy, reports the Washington Post (which has more details on how it was to work and why the numbers didn't add up).