IV

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 8

Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to promoting coverage of

individuals under long-term care insurance.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 6, 1999

Mr. SHAYS (for himself, Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr.

LIPINSKI, Ms. DUNN, Mr. SANDLIN, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. FARR of California, Mr. CANADY of Florida, Mr. HALL of Texas, Mr. HOBSON, Ms.

SLAUGHTER, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. FORD, Mr. REGULA, Mr.

LAFALCE, Mr. BOEHLERT, Ms. DELAURO, Mrs. MORELLA, Mr. BOYD,

Mr. WHITFIELD, Mr. BALDACCI, Mr. DAVIS of Florida, Mr. WEYGAND,

Mr. MALONEY of Connecticut, Mr. STENHOLM, Mr. MORAN of Virginia,

Mr. MINGE, Mr. NADLER, Mr. ENGLISH, and Mrs. KELLY) submitted the

following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on

Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Education and the

Workforce, and Ways and Means, 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

Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to promoting

coverage of individuals under long-term care insurance.

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring),

3 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:

4 (1) As the baby boom generation begins to re5 tire, funding Social Security and Medicare will put
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1 a strain on the financial resources of younger Ameri2 cans.

3 (2) Medicaid was designed as a program for the

4 poor, but in many States Medicaid is being used for

5 middle income elderly people to fund long-term care

6 expenses.

7 (3) In the coming decade, people over age 65

8 will represent up to 20 percent or more of the popu9 lation, and the proportion of the population com10 posed of individuals who are over age 85, who are

11 most likely to be in need of long-term care, may dou12 ble or triple.

13 (4) With nursing home care now costing

14 $40,000 to $50,000 on average per year, long-term

15 care expenses can have a catastrophic effect on fami16 lies, wiping out a lifetime of savings before a spouse,

17 parent, or grandparent becomes eligible for Medic18 aid.

19 (5) Many people are unaware that most long20 term care costs are not covered by Medicare and

21 that Medicaid covers long-term care only after the

22 person’s assets have been exhausted.

23 (6) Widespread use of private long-term care

24 insurance has the potential to protect families from

25 the catastrophic costs of long-term care services
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1 while, at the same time, easing the burden on Medic2 aid as the baby boom generation ages.

3 (7) The Federal Government has endorsed the

4 concept of private long-term care insurance by estab5 lishing Federal tax rules for tax-qualified policies in

6 the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability

7 Act of 1996.

8 (8) The Federal Government has ensured the

9 availability of quality long-term care insurance prod10 ucts and sales practices by adopting strict consumer

11 protections in the Health Insurance Portability and

12 Accountability Act of 1996.

13 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the

14 Congress that—

15 (1) the Federal Government should take all ap16 propriate steps to inform the public about the finan17 cial risks posed by rapidly increasing long-term care

18 costs and about the need for families to plan for

19 their long-term care needs;

20 (2) the Federal Government should take all ap21 propriate steps to inform the public that Medicare

22 does not cover most long-term care costs and that

23 Medicaid covers long-term care costs only when the

24 beneficiary has exhausted his or her assets;
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1 (3) the Federal Government should take all ap2 propriate steps not only to encourage employers to

3 offer private long-term care insurance coverage to

4 employees, but also to encourage both working-aged

5 people and older citizens to obtain long-term care in6 surance either through their employees or on their

7 own;

8 (4) appropriate committees of Congress, to9 gether with the Department of Health and Human

10 Services and other appropriate Executive Branch

11 agencies, should develop specific ideas for encourag12 ing Americans to plan for their own long-term care

13 needs; and

14 (5) the congressional tax-writing committees,

15 together with the Department of the Treasury

16 should determine whether the tax rules for long-term

17 care insurance need to be modified to ensure that

18 the rules adequately facilitate the affordability of

19 long-term care insurance.

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