Alternatives to the CLASS Act: Examination of the Current Long-Term Services and Supports Finance Structure

John Cutler has developed and applied unique expertise in the areas of health care, long term care insurance, disability, aging, and insurance benefit design.  Since 2011, he has served in the new health care reform office of the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM), National Healthcare Operations.  His work on the Multi-State Plan Program at OPM will help stand up insurance products on the health care Marketplaces (Exchanges) nationwide. Prior to that he was a Senior Policy Analyst at OPM (2006-2011) and was the architect and Project Leader for the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (2000-2003).  From 2005 to 2006, Cutler was detailed to the Center for Planning and Policy Development with the U.S. Administration on Aging (AoA).  He was responsible for assisting with the re-authorization of the Older Americans Act and Long Term Care Awareness Campaign sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  He was involved in the development of the   National Clearinghouse for Long-Term Care Information (found at www.longtermcare.gov) which is the mechanism by which Congress and the Administration help educate Americans about long term care planning.

Mr. Cutler joined the federal government in 1997 as a Health Policy Analyst in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) at HHS.  His responsibilities for policy and research included long term care financing and insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, aging, and disability issues. From 1989 to 1997, he worked for AARP, with responsibility for regulatory and compliance matters involving AARP's insurance and financial products.  Prior to that he was also a partner in MacMeekin, Cutler & Woodworth, a small law firm in Washington, DC dedicated to Pacific and territorial legal matters. Cutler holds a BA degree from the University of Virginia in Government and Foreign Affairs and a Juris Doctor from the University of Georgia. He is a member of the Bar in the District of Columbia.  He is a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance and serves on several Society of Actuary committees as well as the AcademyHealth Long Term Services and Supports Interest Group.

William Marton, Ph.D. is the Director of the Division of Disability and Aging Policy in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  He is a sociologist and demographer by training with expertise in the areas of the demography of disability and aging; disability measurement; long-term care financing; and research methodology and evaluation.  William manages and supervises professional staff in ASPE working on policy analysis, budgetary analysis, legislative review, and research and evaluation related to disability, aging, and long-term care issues and programs.  In addition, he works with senior staff to develop, manage, and implement the office’s annual policy research and evaluation plan, and provides general research design and evaluation advice to staff.

Brian Burwell is a nationally recognized expert on Medicaid financing of long-term care and support services and on Federal and State spending trends. He has more than 30 years of experience in health care policy research. Recently, he was a project director of a technical support contract with the Medicare and Medicaid Coordination Office. He was also a consultant to states in the design and implementation of their Medicare-Medicaid Demonstration Program and provider of similar technical support to other States for long-term care programs. He served as project director of a study on care management models in integrated care programs for Medicare-Medicaid enrollees, funded by the American Association of Retired Persons. He is the author of 70 journal articles and technical reports, including a recent study on the current status of Managed Long-Term Services and Supports Programs.

Enid Kassner, M.S.W., leads a team working on livable communities and long-term services and supports in AARP’s Public Policy Institute. She oversees policy research and development that focus on expanding consumer access and choice to an array of affordable long-term services and supports, with an emphasis on improving home- and community-based services, supporting family caregivers, and making communities more livable. Ms. Kassner joined the Public Policy Institute in December 1988 as a senior policy advisor. Her work focuses on Medicaid home- and community-based services and long-term care insurance. Prior to joining the Public Policy Institute, she was a lobbyist for the National Council of Senior Citizens. During her tenure at AARP, Ms. Kassner took a leave of absence to work on long-term care reform for the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources during the Clinton health reform effort. She also took a temporary assignment with the federal Commission on Housing and Services for the Elderly as a staff advisor on long-term services and supports issues. She has an MSW from the University of Maryland.