IV

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 210

Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to promoting coverage of

individuals under long-term care insurance.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 5, 1998

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

LIPINSKI, Mrs. KENNELLY of Connecticut, Mr. REGULA, Mr. LAFALCE,

Mr. FARR of California, Mr. FROST, and Mr. GOODE) 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

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

6 a strain on the financial resources of younger Ameri7 cans.
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1 (2) Medicaid was designed as a program for the

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

3 middle income elderly people to fund long-term care

4 expenses.

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

6 will represent up to 20 percent or more of the popu7 lation, and the proportion of the population com8 posed of individuals who are over age 85, who are

9 most likely to be in need of long-term care, may dou10 ble or triple.

11 (4) With nursing home care now costing

12 $40,000 to $50,000 on average per year, long-term

13 care expenses can have a catastrophic effect on fami14 lies, wiping out a lifetime of savings before a spouse,

15 parent, or grandparent becomes eligible for Medic16 aid.

17 (5) Many people are unaware that most long18 term care costs are not covered by Medicare and

19 that Medicaid covers long-term care only after the

20 person’s assets have been exhausted.

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

22 insurance has the potential to protect families from

23 the catastrophic costs of long-term care services

24 while, at the same time, easing the burden on Medic25 aid as the baby boom generation ages.
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1 (7) The Federal Government has endorsed the

2 concept of private long-term care insurance by estab3 lishing Federal tax rules for tax-qualified policies in

4 the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability

5 Act of 1996.

6 (8) The Federal Government has ensured the

7 availability of quality long-term care insurance prod8 ucts and sales practices by adopting strict consumer

9 protections in the Health Insurance Portability and

10 Accountability Act of 1996.

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

12 Congress that—

13 (1) the Federal Government should take all ap14 propriate steps to inform the public about the finan15 cial risks posed by rapidly increasing long-term care

16 costs and about the need for families to plan for

17 their long-term care needs;

18 (2) the Federal Government should take all ap19 propriate steps to inform the public that Medicare

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

21 Medicaid covers long-term care costs only when the

22 beneficiary has exhausted his or her assets;

23 (3) the Federal Government should take all ap24 propriate steps not only to encourage employers to

25 offer private long-term care insurance coverage to
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1 employees, but also to encourage both working-aged

2 people and older citizens to obtain long-term care in3 surance either through their employees or on their

4 own;

5 (4) appropriate committees of Congress, to6 gether with the Department of Health and Human

7 Services and other appropriate Executive Branch

8 agencies, should develop specific ideas for encourag9 ing Americans to plan for their own long-term care

10 needs;

11 (5) the congressional tax-writing committees,

12 together with the Department of the Treasury

13 should determine whether the tax rules for long-term

14 care insurance need to be modified to ensure that

15 the rules adequately facilitate the affordability of

16 long-term care insurance; and

17 (6) the upcoming National Summit on Retire18 ment Income Savings should ensure that planning

19 for long-term care is an integral part of any discus20 sion of retirement security.

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