IV

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 37

Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to promoting coverage of

individuals under long-term care insurance.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 14, 2001

Mr. SHAYS (for himself, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. RAMSTAD, Mr.

NORWOOD, Mr. WHITFIELD, Mr. HOBSON, Mrs. MALONEY of New York,

Mr. DAVIS of Florida, Mr. NADLER, Mr. GOODE, Mr. BALDACCI, Mr.

ENGLISH, Mr. LAFALCE, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mrs.

KELLY, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. FARR of California, Mr. FROST, Mr. DOYLE,

Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. BARCIA, Mr. TANNER, Mr.

DEUTSCH, Mr. WATKINS, Mr. MCNULTY, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. PHELPS, Mrs. MORELLA, Mr. COSTELLO, Mr.

SUNUNU, Mr. GANSKE, Ms. HART, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. BASS, Mr. FOLEY,

Mrs. NORTHUP, Mrs. LOWEY, and Mr. SIMMONS) submitted the following

concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy

and 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:
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1 (1) As the baby boom generation begins to re2 tire, funding Social Security and Medicare will put

3 a strain on the financial resources of younger Ameri4 cans.

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

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

7 middle income elderly people to fund long-term care

8 expenses.

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

10 will represent up to 20 percent or more of the popu11 lation, and the proportion of the population com12 posed of individuals who are over age 85, who are

13 most likely to be in need of long-term care, may dou14 ble or triple.

15 (4) With nursing home care now costing

16 $40,000 to $50,000 on average per year, long-term

17 care expenses can have a catastrophic effect on fami18 lies, wiping out a lifetime of savings before a spouse,

19 parent, or grandparent becomes eligible for Med20 icaid.

21 (5) Many people are unaware that most long22 term care costs are not covered by Medicare and

23 that Medicaid covers long-term care only after the

24 person’s assets have been exhausted.
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1 (6) Widespread use of private long-term care

2 insurance has the potential to protect families from

3 the catastrophic costs of long-term care services

4 while, at the same time, easing the burden on Med5 icaid as the baby boom generation ages.

6 (7) The Federal Government has endorsed the

7 concept of private long-term care insurance by estab8 lishing Federal tax rules for tax-qualified policies in

9 the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability

10 Act of 1996.

11 (8) The Federal Government has ensured the

12 availability of quality long-term care insurance prod13 ucts and sales practices by adopting strict consumer

14 protections in the Health Insurance Portability and

15 Accountability Act of 1996.

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

17 Congress that—

18 (1) the Federal Government should take all ap19 propriate steps to inform the public about the finan20 cial risks posed by rapidly increasing long-term care

21 costs and about the need for families to plan for

22 their long-term care needs;

23 (2) the Federal Government should take all ap24 propriate steps to inform the public that Medicare

25 does not cover most long-term care costs and that
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1 Medicaid covers long-term care costs only when the

2 beneficiary has exhausted his or her assets;

3 (3) the Federal Government should take all ap4 propriate steps not only to encourage employers to

5 offer private long-term care insurance coverage to

6 employees, but also to encourage both working-aged

7 people and older citizens to obtain long-term care in8 surance either through their employers or on their

9 own;

10 (4) appropriate committees of Congress, to11 gether with the Department of Health and Human

12 Services and other appropriate Executive Branch

13 agencies, should develop specific ideas for encour14 aging Americans to plan for their own long-term

15 care needs; and

16 (5) the congressional tax-writing committees,

17 together with the Department of the Treasury

18 should determine whether the tax rules for long-term

19 care insurance need to be modified to ensure that

20 the rules adequately facilitate the affordability of

21 long-term care insurance.

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