 |
 |
>Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 01:13:41 -0700 (PDT) >X-Sender: [log in to unmask] >To: [log in to unmask] >From: Frank Winslow <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Re: [ALZ] TAX QUESTION >Sender: [log in to unmask] >Reply-To: [log in to unmask] >Comment: To unsubscribe, send the message "unsubscribe ALZHEIMER" >Comment: (without the quotes) to [log in to unmask] > >At 09:21 24/8/96 PST, you wrote: >>Frank Winslow writes: >>>The Kassebaum-Kennedy Health Insurance Bill (S.1028) that cleared >>>Congress Aug 1 makes long-term or chronic care expenses in nursing >>homes >and in home health care deductible as medical costs for federal >income tax >purposes. >> >> As one who is privately paying for the cost of 24 hour home care >>(and I am sure there are many others on this listserve in comparable >situations), this Bill is of significant interest. Frank (or others), are >>there any further details available, i.e., how does it differ from the >>current tax laws, when does it take effect (would it apply to 1995 >>expenses?), and what are the implications, say, for a child or sibling >>who is paying these expenses for a loved one? >> >>Julian >Scher >> >>[log in to unmask] > >Julian, > >Anyone checking out my 24 Aug data would find, as I did, that my reference >was to the original senate bill (my usually reliable source misled me). It >should have been to the bill the president signed on Aug 21 HR 3103 Health >Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. Anyone wanting a copy >may download it (596kb) from the Library of Congress' THOMAS. The 3 Aug >weekly update of the Congressional Quarterly has a summary and commmetary of >the two bills. > >As to your questions I must leave any explanation of the law's impact upon >your situation to the experts in insurance and federal taxes. I can only >refer to subject matter and anticipate clarification by rule-making by state >insurance commissioners and the IRS. > >Matters of interest: > >The law is effective 1997. > >Sec 217. Criminal penalty for fraudulent disposal of assets to obtain >medicaid benefits. $10,000 and one year. > >Sec 321. Treatment of LTC Insurance. The insurance industry wants people to >buy LTC Insurance as they do acute health care coverage. One inducement is >to allow its costs to be treated by IRS as accident and health insurance. >That is, premiums are deductable and the benefits exempt up to $63,875 per >year. > >Sec 322. Qualified LTC services to be treated as medical care. Refer to my >comments of 24 August. I am looking for clarification. > >Sec 331. Treatment of accelerated death benefits by recipient. Allows >chronically or terminally ill individuals to receive death benefits before >death without a tax penalty. > > >Not much help for you, I regret. > >Frank >