|
|
Pending Legislation Relating to Family Caregivers and Their Loved Ones
The National Family Caregiver Association
October 2005
A. Public Health Bills:
1) H.R. 1262, The Ronald Reagan Alzheimer's Breakthrough Act of 2005 -- Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) sponsors the House bill, and the related Senate bill, S. 602, is sponsored by Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD). Mikulski's bill has 43 co-sponsors (including 14 Republicans and 29 Democrats) and remains in the Finance Committee.
Congressman Smith introduced the House bill on March 10, 2005. It has been referred to subcommittees of the House Energy and Commerce and Education and the Workforce Committees. It now has
55 sponsors.
The Ronald Reagan Alzheimer's Act would double funding for Alzheimer's research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to $1.4 billion in Fiscal Year 2006 (FY 06). The NIH Director would be required to make grants for research designed to help caregivers of Alzheimer's patients. The Act also would double funding for the National Family Caregiver Support Program to $250 million in FY 06.
2) S. 932, The Healthy Families Act - Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) introduced the bill in the Senate, and Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) did so for the companion bill, H.R. 1902, in the House. Sen. Kennedy's bill (which has 12 co-sponsors), introduced on April 27, 2005, was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP).
DeLauro's companion bill, with 50 co-sponsors, went to the House Committees on Education and the Workforce, Government Reform, and Administration.
The bills ".provide for paid sick leave to ensure that Americans can address their own health needs and the health needs of their families." Specifically, the Act mandates that certain employers with at least 15 employees provide a minimum paid sick leave of seven days annually for those who work at least 30 hours per week, as well as a prorated amount for those who work 20-30 hours per week. Notably, the bills allow employees to use such leave to meet their own or their families' medical needs.
B. Tax Bills:
1) S. 835, Senior Elder Care Relief and Empowerment (SECURE) Act - The SECURE Act, sponsored by Senator Larry Craig (R-ID), was referred to the Senate Finance Committee on April 18, 2005. Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT) has co-sponsored the bill. Craig's bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code to allow for a 50% nonrefundable credit for eldercare expenses once eligible citizens have spent $1,000, not including any expenses reimbursed by insurance. The tax credit would apply to the senior citizen or the family caregiver of the taxpayer or a family member claiming the senior as a dependent. It could be applied to costs for physical assistance with essential daily activities to prevent injury, long-term care expenses including normal household services, architectural expenses necessary to modify the senior's residence, respite care, adult daycare, assisted living facilities and services, and home healthcare.
2) H.R. 1150 - Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL)'s bill has eight Republican co-sponsors and has been sent to the Ways and Means Committee. Congresswoman Brown-Waite wants to provide a tax credit of up to $1,000 ($2,000 in the case of a joint return) for long-term care expenses, such as premiums under a long-term care insurance plan. 3/8/2005 Referred to House committee.
C. Medicare and Social Security Bills:
The Medicare program does not cover most types of long-term assistance given by family caregivers at home. Medicare does provide up to 35 hours per week of skilled nursing care in the home, but the program does not help to pay for associated "custodial care" expenses, such as helping an incapacitated relative to shop, eat, clean, bathe, and dress. Medicare also does not cover most types of training to help caregivers learn how best to look after their families. The bills immediately below address some of Medicare's shortcomings in these areas:
1) H.R. 467, The Geriatric and Chronic Care Management Act of 2005 -- Representative Gene Green (D-TX) introduced this bill on February 1, 2005. The Act was referred to the House Committees on Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means and now has eight co-sponsors. Sen. Blanche Lincoln's (D-AR) companion bill, S. 40, introduced on January 24, 2005, has seven co-sponsors.
The Green and Lincoln bills would provide for supplementary insurance under Medicare part B for coverage of geriatric assessments and chronic care management. Individuals with multiple chronic diseases or disabilities would be covered. The bill also would require a report by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) on best practices of chronic care management.
2) H.R. 175, The Family Caregiver Security Act of 2005 - Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-CA) introduced this bill on January 4, 2005, and it now has three Democratic co-sponsors. It has been referred to the House Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce health subcommittees. There is no Senate counterpart.
Congresswoman Millender-McDonald's bill is designed to compensate family caregivers at the same rate as home health aides under Medicare. The bill also would require Medicare to provide training for family caregiving services.
3) S. 401, Medicaid Community-Based Attendant Services and Support Act of 2005 --
Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) sponsors the Senate bill, and Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL) authored the related House bill, H.R. 910. There are 12 Senate and 8 House co-sponsors. The Senate bill was referred to the Finance Committee in February, 2005. Davis's version has remained in the House Energy and Commerce's Health Subcommittee since its March, 2005 introduction. HR 910 has 47 cosponsors.
Sen. Harkin and Rep. Davis's bills would amend Title XIX of the Social Security Act to provide individuals with disabilities and older Americans with equal access to community-based attendant services and support. They would in essence remove the institutional bias in favor of nursing homes in Medicaid and provide more choices, including home care, for individuals eligible for Medicaid. The bills include the concept of "money follows the individual," a radical departure to current funding protocol in which dollars are dispensed to providers.
4) H.R. 1981, The Medicare Adult Day Care Services Act of 2005 - Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) would amend the Social Security Act to allow for Medicare coverage of substitute adult day care services. The bill would require adult day care services to accept the same amount of payment under Medicare as home health care services do. Therefore, family caregivers more easily could use adult day care services as temporary respite from their caregiving activities. H.R. 1981 has 57 co-sponsors and awaits consideration in the House Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce Committees.
D. Workforce Bills:
1) H.R. 476, The Family and Medical Leave Enhancement Act of 2005 - H.R. 476, sponsored by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), has 29 co-sponsors and has been sent to the Education and the Workforce Subcommittee of the House Education Committee. Congresswoman Maloney's bill would amend the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to allow employees to take up to four hours off during any 30-day period and up to 24 hours off during any year-long period. The bill lists taking children and grandchildren to medical and dental appointments as an appropriate reason for taking leave under
FMLA.
2) S. 282, The Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act - S. 282, sponsored by Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), has 12 co-sponsors and has been sent to the Senate HELP Committee. Sen. Dodd would amend the FMLA to enable the Secretary of Labor to make grants to states to replace lost wages for individuals caring for a newly born or adopted child or taking care of "other family caregiving needs." The wage replacement grant would last for a minimum of six weeks. If enacted, the bill would authorize $400 in FY 06 for the grants.
3) H.R. 1589, The Balancing Act of 2005 - Rep. Lynne Woolsey (D-CA) has authored this bill to assist working families through enhanced family and medical leave, among other provisions. One section of the bill would require the Secretary of Labor to provide five-year grants to provide partial of full wage replacement for up to 12 months for individuals who leave their jobs in order to meet family caregiving needs. 51 members have co-sponsored the bill, which has been referred to the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity.
4) H. Con. Res. 8 - Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-CA) has introduced a resolution, with no co-sponsors, calling for full funding of the National Family Caregiver Support Program. The resolution has been referred to the House Education Committee's Education and the Workforce Subcommittee.
|
|
