IV

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 412

Promoting a national dialog on long-term care financing reform.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 27, 2000

Mr. POMEROY (for himself, Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut, Mr. FOLEY, Mr.

PETERSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. WHITFIELD, Mr. LATOURETTE, Mr.

MANZULLO, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. KUYKENDALL, Mr. ENGLISH, Ms.

MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. DAVIS of Florida, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr.

SKELTON, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. SANDLIN, Mr. FROST, Mr. RAMSTAD, and

Mr. BASS) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce, and in addition to the Committees

on Ways and Means, and Education and the Workforce, for a period to

be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee

concerned

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Promoting a national dialog on long-term care financing

reform.

Whereas as the baby boom generation begins to retire, funding Social Security and medicare will put a strain on the

financial resources of younger Americans;

Whereas medicaid was designed as a program for the poor,

but in many States medicaid is being used to fund longterm care expenses for middle-income older Americans;
2

•HCON 412 IH

Whereas in the coming decade, people over age 65 will represent 20 percent or more of the population, and the proportion of the population composed of individuals over

age 85, who are most likely to be in need of long-term

care, may double or triple;

Whereas there are as many as 4 million people with disabilities or chronic illnesses, regardless of age, who need

long-term care services and support in order to survive;

Whereas with nursing home care now costing an average of

$40,000 to $50,000 per year, long-term care expenses

can have a catastrophic effect on families, wiping out a

lifetime of savings before a spouse, parent, or grandparent becomes eligible for medicaid;

Whereas costs for intermediate care facilities for people with

mental retardation and other developmental disabilities

average nearly $80,000 per year;

Whereas younger people with disabilities face the same longterm care cost issues as the elderly, yet they face certain

additional long-term care problems because they are often

younger and at a different stage of life, often trying to

raise a family or earn a living while needing long-term

support;

Whereas many people are unaware that most long-term care

costs are not covered by medicare and that medicaid covers long-term care only after personal assets have been

exhausted;

Whereas assistance for people with disabilities does not come

from any one comprehensive program, but from many

different programs, including medicaid, Social Security,

and housing programs that contribute to helping people

with disabilities lead independent lives;
3

•HCON 412 IH

Whereas widespread use of private long-term care insurance

has the potential to protect many families from the catastrophic costs of long-term care services, while at the

same time easing the burden on medicaid and freeing up

additional resources for people who have been unable to

obtain private insurance because of disability or some

other limiting factor;

Whereas the Federal Government has endorsed the concept

of private long-term care insurance by establishing Federal tax rules for tax-qualified policies in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996; and

Whereas the Federal Government has ensured the availability

of quality long-term care insurance products and sales

practices by adopting strict consumer protections in the

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of

1996: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that—

3 (1) the Federal Government should—

4 (A) take all appropriate steps to inform

5 the public about the financial risks posed by

6 rapidly increasing long-term care costs and

7 about the need for families to plan for their

8 long-term care needs;

9 (B) take all appropriate steps to inform

10 the public that medicare does not cover most

11 long-term care costs and that medicaid covers
4

•HCON 412 IH

1 long-term care costs only when the beneficiary’s

2 personal assets are exhausted;

3 (C) take all appropriate steps to better in4 tegrate programs for people with disabilities

5 who need long-term care, including the contin6 ued development of home- and community7 based services;

8 (D) not only encourage employers to offer

9 private long-term care insurance coverage to

10 employees, but also encourage both working11 aged people and older citizens to obtain long12 term care insurance either through their em13 ployers or on their own; and

14 (E) continue to support and encourage re15 search into alleviating disabilities and chronic

16 diseases that necessitate long-term care services

17 and support;

18 (2) appropriate committees of Congress, to19 gether with the Department of Health and Human

20 Services and other appropriate executive branch

21 agencies, should develop specific ideas for encour22 aging Americans to plan for their own long-term

23 care needs and better integrate long-term care pro24 grams for people with disabilities;
5

•HCON 412 IH

1 (3) the congressional tax-writing committees,

2 together with the Department of the Treasury,

3 should determine whether the tax rules for long-term

4 care insurance should be modified to ensure that the

5 rules adequately facilitate the affordability of long6 term care insurance; and

7 (4) the appropriate committees of Congress

8 should consider the long-term care needs of older

9 Americans, people with disabilities, and the chron10 ically ill when considering medicaid, tax, health, in11 surance, and housing policies, as well as the reform

12 of Social Security and medicare.

Æ