"This bill doesn't have everything I wanted, but I'm happy that it includes key health care items," Grassley said. "It enhances access to Medicare services for people in less populated areas of the country. It also uses the tax code to help family members care for an aging parent. As our nation ages, most Americans will care for an older person. That's the right thing to do, and it shouldn't bankrupt anyone."
The tax bill includes a hybrid of provisions that Grassley has long advocated via legislation with Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.). The Grassley-Graham language called for a tax deduction for the cost of long-term care insurance and a tax credit for the out-of-pocket expenses of family caregivers.
The comprehensive tax bill includes an above-the-line deduction for the purchase of long-term care insurance, which would be phased in over six years. According to the Finance Committee outline, the deduction is accompanied by language providing for certain consumer protections.
An additional above-the-line deduction would be provided to taxpayers who incur long-term care expenses in caring for a relative with long-term care needs. The deduction would be $3,000 in 2001 and would be phased upward to $10,000 in 2008.
Grassley said he would prefer a tax credit for these long-term care expenses, instead of a tax deduction, because a credit would present a larger financial benefit for taxpayers. However, he said, a deduction is a step in the right direction.
Other health care provisions in the tax bill that Grassley worked on include:
*Strengthens Small-town Health Care. Corrects Medicare policies that discriminate against rural hospitals by providing equitable treatment for rural hospitals caring for a disproportionate share of poor Medicare patients; allows additional hospitals to benefit from the Medicare Dependent Hospital program for rural areas; improves reimbursement for all sole community hospitals; enhances rural patients' access to emergency and ambulance services; and establishes a favorable new payment system for rural health clinics and community health centers.
*Gives Rural Seniors Access to Best Medical Care Through Telehealth Services. Increases Medicare access to telehealth medicine in rural areas where medical specialists are not readily available. As a result, Medicare patients will now have access to the world's best doctors and medical care regardless of where they live.
*Improves Access to Hospitals. Ensures access to hospital services nationwide by providing a full inflation update for 2001.
*Home Health and Hospice Provisions. Protects funding for home health services by delaying a scheduled 15 percent cut in payments in addition to other payment increases. Provides for full medical inflation update for home health. Protects home health services in situations where beneficiaries may be using adult day care services. Hospice provisions also improve funding for end-of-life care. The plan also enhances the use of telehealth medicine in delivery of home health care services.
*Increases Access to Therapy for Nursing Home Patients. Maintains access to rehabilitative therapy for nursing home residents by extending the moratorium on therapy caps.