The Long-Term Care and Retirement Security Act (S. 35), which would encourage people to buy long-term care insurance by establishing a tax deduction for the cost of such insurance (Grassley's comprehensive tax relief bill, the Tax Relief for Working Americans Act (S. 1160), also contains major tax relief for long-term care);
The Civil Service Long-Term Care Insurance Benefit Act (S. 36), which would make long-term care insurance more affordable for federal employees by using the government's purchasing power to obtain volume discounts; and the National Family Caregiver Support Program Act (S. 707), which would amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to establish a national family caregiver support program.
Grassley made the following comment on the President's announced proposals.
"I'm pleased to see the President joining the debate as we try to find solutions to long-term care needs. The challenges of caring for aging loved ones are widespread but often unrecognized. Millions of Americans spend hours each day caring for older or disabled family members. These caregivers decide whether their loved ones need long-term care and if so, how to pay for the tremendous expense. No one wants to anticipate a nursing home stay, but financial planning would spare many families a lot of anguish. As our nation ages, we have to increase the resources available for long-term care. Growing older should be a blessing, not a hardship."
