I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4498
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide tax incentives
to enhance long-term care and to convene a National Summit on Long-
Term Care, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 18, 2000
Mrs. BIGGERT (for herself, Mr. BAKER, Mr. KUYKENDALL, Mr. PORTER, Mr.
FLETCHER, and Mr. SHIMKUS) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the
Committees on Education and the Workforce, Commerce, and Banking
and Financial Services, 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
A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide
tax incentives to enhance long-term care and to convene
a National Summit on Long-Term Care, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Live Long and Prosper
Act of 2000’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:
(1) There are more than 34 million Americans
aged 65 and older living in the United States today.
By 2030 that number is expected to double to 70
million.
(2) As the number of elderly Americans in-
creases and as medical advances extend the average
human life span, the need for some form of long-
term home or institutional care will only continue to
grow.
(3) The Nation is not presently ready—either
through private or public financing vehicles—to
meet this growing need. Nor are individuals and
families financially ready to meet their long-term
care needs, which, in the case of nursing home care,
now cost more than $40,000 on average per year.
(4) Most long-term care is currently financed
either through out-of-pocket expenditures or though
the medicaid program.
(5) Many Americans are not aware that med-
icaid covers long-term care costs only after the per-
son has divested their assets and that medicare cov-
ers extremely few long-term care expenses.
(6) While private long-term care insurance has
the potential to protect families from the cata-
strophic costs of long-term care services, private in-
surance finances only an estimated 7 percent of
long-term care.
(7) In order to meet the impending need, the
Federal Government has attempted to promote the
purchase of private long-term care insurance by es-
tablishing favorable Federal tax rules for tax-quali-
fied policies with the enactment of the Health Insur-
ance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
(8) The Health Insurance Portability and Ac-
countability Act of 1996 has helped raise public
awareness of the importance of private long-term
health care insurance coverage. However, the Act
has fallen short of expectations relating to the in-
creased purchase of long-term care insurance in the
individual market. What’s more, the Act did little to
encourage employers to provide long-term care cov-
erage as part of their employee benefit plans.
(9) It is in the fundamental interest of the
United States that Congress and the Administration
take immediate steps to educate the public on the
need to prepare for long-term care health care costs
and to enact additional financial incentives to pro-
tect them from the same.
SEC. 3. PURPOSES.
It is the purpose of this Act—
(1) to advance the public’s knowledge and un-
derstanding of long-term care, as well as long-term
health care insurance and its critical importance to
the future well-being of American workers and their
families;
(2) to financially encourage employers to offer
private long-term care insurance coverage to employ-
ees, but also to encourage every generation to plan
for and to obtain long-term care insurance either
through their employers or on their own;
(3) to provide for a periodic, bipartisan long-
term care summit in conjunction with the White
House to elevate the issue of long-term care to na-
tional prominence; and
(4) to initiate through the Departments of
Health and Human Services, Labor and other ap-
propriate Executive Branch agencies a timely, up-to-
date, broad-based, public education campaign to en-
hance the nation’s commitment to meeting the grow-
ing crisis in long-term care financing.
TITLE I—TAX INCENTIVES TO
ENHANCE LONG-TERM CARE
SEC. 101. DEDUCTION FOR HEALTH AND LONG-TERM CARE
INSURANCE COSTS OF INDIVIDUALS NOT
PARTICIPATING IN EMPLOYER-SUBSIDIZED
HEALTH PLANS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part VII of subchapter B of chap-
ter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended
by redesignating section 222 as section 223 and by insert-
ing after section 221 the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 222. LONG-TERM CARE INSURANCE COSTS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an individual,
there shall be allowed as a deduction an amount equal to
the applicable percentage of the eligible long-term care
premiums (as defined in section 213(d)(10)) paid during
the taxable year for the taxpayer and the taxpayer’s
spouse and dependents.
‘‘(b) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE.—For purposes of
subsection (a), the applicable percentage shall be deter-
mined in accordance with the following table:
‘‘For taxable years beginning
The applicable
in calendar year—
percentage is—
2001 .............................................................................................
2002 .............................................................................................
2003 .............................................................................................
2004 .............................................................................................
2005 and thereafter .....................................................................
100.
‘‘(c) LIMITATION BASED ON OTHER COVERAGE.—
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections
for part VII of subchapter B of chapter 1 of such Code
is amended by striking the last item and inserting the fol-
lowing new items:
‘‘Sec. 222. Long-term care insurance costs.
‘‘Sec. 223. Cross reference.’’.
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after
December 31, 2000.
SEC. 102. LONG-TERM CARE INSURANCE PERMITTED TO BE
OFFERED UNDER CAFETERIA PLANS AND
FLEXIBLE SPENDING ARRANGEMENTS.
(a) CAFETERIA PLANS.—Subsection (f) of section
125 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (defining quali-
fied benefits) is amended by inserting before the period
at the end ‘‘unless such product is a qualified long-term
care insurance contract (as defined in section 7702B).
(b) FLEXIBLE SPENDING ARRANGEMENTS.—Section
106 of such Code (relating to contributions by employer
to accident and health plans) is amended by striking sub-
section (c).
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after
December 31, 2000.
SEC. 103. ADDITIONAL PERSONAL EXEMPTION FOR TAX-
PAYER CARING FOR ELDERLY FAMILY MEM-
BER IN TAXPAYER’S HOME.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 151 of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 (relating to allowance of deductions
for personal exemptions) is amended by redesignating sub-
section (e) as subsection (f ) and by inserting after sub-
section (d) the following new subsection:
‘‘(e) ADDITIONAL EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN ELDER-
LY FAMILY MEMBERS RESIDING WITH TAXPAYER.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An exemption of the ex-
emption amount for each qualified family member of
the taxpayer.
‘‘(2) QUALIFIED FAMILY MEMBER.—For pur-
poses of this subsection, the term ‘qualified family
member’ means, with respect to any taxable year,
any individual—
‘‘(A) who is an ancestor of the taxpayer or
of the taxpayer’s spouse or who is the spouse
of any such ancestor,
‘‘(B) who is a member for the entire tax-
able year of a household maintained by the tax-
payer, and
‘‘(C) who has been certified, before the due
date for filing the return of tax for the taxable
year (without extensions), by a physician (as
defined in section 1861(r)(1) of the Social Se-
curity Act) as being an individual with long-
term care needs described in paragraph (3) for
a period—
‘‘(i) which is at least 180 consecutive
days, and
‘‘(ii) a portion of which occurs within
the taxable year.
Such term shall not include any individual otherwise
meeting the requirements of the preceding sentence
unless within the 391⁄2-month period ending on such
due date (or such other period as the Secretary pre-
scribes) a physician (as so defined) has certified that
such individual meets such requirements.
‘‘(3) INDIVIDUALS
WITH
LONG-TERM
CARE
NEEDS.—An individual is described in this para-
graph if the individual—
‘‘(A) is unable to perform (without sub-
stantial assistance from another individual) at
least two activities of daily living (as defined in
section 7702B(c)(2)(B)) due to a loss of func-
tional capacity, or
‘‘(B) requires substantial supervision to
protect such individual from threats to health
and safety due to severe cognitive impairment
and is unable to perform, without reminding or
cuing assistance, at least one activity of daily
living (as so defined) or to the extent provided
in regulations prescribed by the Secretary (in
consultation with the Secretary of Health and
Human Services), is unable to engage in age
appropriate activities.
‘‘(4) SPECIAL
RULES.—Rules similar to the
rules of paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), and (5) of sec-
tion 21(e) shall apply for purposes of this sub-
section.’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by
this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after
December 31, 2000.
TITLE II—NATIONAL SUMMIT ON
LONG-TERM CARE
SEC. 201. NATIONAL SUMMIT ON LONG-TERM CARE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part 5 of subtitle B of title I of
the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 is
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
‘‘NATIONAL SUMMIT ON LONG-TERM CARE AND
FINANCING
‘‘SEC. 518. (a) AUTHORITY TO CALL SUMMIT.—Not
later than September 1, 2002, the President shall convene
a National Summit on Long-Term Care at the White
House, to be hosted by the President with the bipartisan
support of both Houses of the Congress. Such a National
Summit shall be convened thereafter in 2004 and 2006
on or after August 1 of each year involved. Such a Na-
tional Summit shall—
‘‘(1) advance the public’s knowledge and under-
standing of what constitutes long-term care, meth-
ods of financing long-term care, and its importance
to the future well-being of American workers and
their families;
‘‘(2) facilitate the development of a broad-
based, public education program to encourage and
enhance individual commitment to financially pre-
pare for some form of long-term or institutional
health care;
‘‘(3) develop recommendations for additional re-
search, reforms in public policy, and actions in the
field of long-term care insurance; and
‘‘(4) disseminate the report of, and information
obtained by, the National Summit and exhibit mate-
rials and works of the National Summit.
‘‘(b) PLANNING
AND DIRECTION.—The National
Summit shall be planned and conducted under the direc-
tion of the Secretary, in consultation with, and with the
assistance of, the heads of such other Federal departments
and agencies as the President may designate. Such assist-
ance may include the assignment of personnel. The Sec-
retary shall, in planning and conducting the National
Summit, consult with the congressional leaders specified
in subsection (e)(2). The Secretary shall also, in carrying
out the Secretary’s duties under this subsection, consult
and coordinate with at least two organizations made up
of private sector businesses and associations partnered
with Government entities to promote financial security in
retirement through long-term care insurance.
‘‘(c) PURPOSE OF NATIONAL SUMMIT.—The purpose
of the National Summit shall be to—
‘‘(1) increase the public awareness of the value
of preparing for long-term care and financing
against long-term care risks;
‘‘(2) advance the public’s knowledge and under-
standing of long-term care financing and long-term
care insurance, and its critical importance to the fu-
ture well-being of American workers and their fami-
lies;
‘‘(3) advance the public’s knowledge of the
shortcomings of long-term care services provided
under the medicare and medicaid programs and to
discuss financial alternatives to such programs;
‘‘(4) facilitate the development of a broad-
based, public education program to encourage and
enhance individual commitment to financially pre-
paring for long-term care expenses;
‘‘(5) identify the problems which hinder workers
in preparing for possible long-term care needs;
‘‘(6) identify the barriers which impede employ-
ers, especially small employers, from assisting work-
ers in accessing long-term care insurance;
‘‘(7) examine the impact and effectiveness of in-
dividual employers to promote long-term care insur-
ance coverage and to promote participation in em-
ployer sponsored health plans;
‘‘(8) examine the impact and effectiveness of
government programs at the Federal, State, and
local level to educate the public about the need for,
and to encourage the purchase of, long-term care in-
surance;
‘‘(9) develop such specific and comprehensive
recommendations for the legislative and executive
branches of the Government and for private sector
action as may be appropriate for promoting long-
term care coverage, as well as preparing American
workers to financially meet long-term care needs;
and
‘‘(10) develop recommendations for the coordi-
nation of Federal, State, and local policies and needs
with each other and with the efforts of the private
sector to meet the growing need for long-term care
services, and to identify the appropriate authority
and entities to implement such recommendations.
‘‘(d) NATIONAL SUMMIT PARTICIPANTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To carry out the purposes
of the National Summit, the National Summit shall
bring together—
‘‘(A) professionals and other individuals
working in the fields of employee benefits and
retirement savings;
‘‘(B) Members of Congress and officials in
the executive branch;
‘‘(C) representatives of State and local
governments;
‘‘(D) representatives of private sector insti-
tutions, including individual employers, con-
cerned about promoting the issue of retirement
savings and facilitating savings among Amer-
ican workers; and
‘‘(E) representatives of the general public.
‘‘(2) 
STATUTORILY
REQUIRED
PARTICIPA-
TION.—The participants in the National Summit
shall include the following individuals or their des-
ignees:
‘‘(A) the Speaker and the Minority Leader
of the House of Representatives;
‘‘(B) the Majority Leader and the Minority
Leader of the Senate;
‘‘(C) the Chairman and ranking Member of
the Committee on Education and the Workforce
of the House of Representatives;
‘‘(D) the Chairman and ranking Member
of the Committee on Labor and Human Re-
sources of the Senate; and
‘‘(E) the Chairman and ranking Member
of the Special Committee on Aging of the Sen-
ate;
‘‘(F) the Chairman and ranking Member
of the Ways and Means Committee of the
House of Representatives;
‘‘(G) the Chairman and ranking Member
of the Finance Committee of the Senate; and
‘‘(H) the parties referred to in subsection
(b).
‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL PARTICIPANTS.—Of the re-
maining participants—
‘‘(A) one-fifth shall be appointed by the
President;
‘‘(B) one-fifth shall be appointed by the
Speaker of the House of Representatives;
‘‘(C) one-fifth shall be appointed by the
Minority Leader of the House of Representa-
tives;
‘‘(D) one-fifth shall be appointed by the
Majority Leader of the Senate; and
‘‘(E) one-fifth shall be appointed by the
Minority Leader of the Senate.
Such remaining participants shall be selected prior
to May 1, 2001, without regard to political affili-
ation or past partisan activity and shall be rep-
resentative of the diversity of thought in the fields
of employee benefits and retirement income savings.
‘‘(4) 
PRESIDING
OFFICERS.—The 
National
Summit shall be presided over equally by representa-
tives of the executive and legislative branches.
‘‘(e) NATIONAL SUMMIT ADMINISTRATION.—
‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATION.—In administering this
section, the Secretary shall—
‘‘(A) request the cooperation and assist-
ance of such other Federal departments and
agencies and other parties referred to in sub-
section (b) as may be appropriate in the car-
rying out of this section;
‘‘(B) furnish all reasonable assistance, in-
cluding financial assistance, to State agencies,
area agencies, and other appropriate organiza-
tions to enable them to organize and conduct
conferences in conjunction with the National
Summit;
‘‘(C) make available for public comment a
proposed agenda for the National Summit that
reflects to the greatest extent possible the pur-
poses for the National Summit set out in this
section;
‘‘(D) prepare and make available back-
ground materials for the use of participants in
the National Summit that the Secretary con-
siders necessary; and
‘‘(E) appoint and fix the pay of such addi-
tional personnel as may be necessary to carry
out the provisions of this section without regard
to provisions of title 5, United States Code,
governing appointments in the competitive serv-
ice, and without regard to chapter 51 and sub-
chapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating
to classification and General Schedule pay
rates.
‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The Secretary shall, in carrying
out the responsibilities and functions of the Sec-
retary under this section, and as part of the Na-
tional Summit, ensure that—
‘‘(A) the National Summit shall be con-
ducted in a manner that ensures broad partici-
pation of Federal, State, and local agencies and
private organizations, professionals, and others
involved in the area of long-term care and pro-
vides a strong basis for assistance to be pro-
vided under paragraph (1)(B);
‘‘(B) the agenda prepared under paragraph
(1)(C) for the National Summit is published in
the Federal Register; and
‘‘(C) the personnel appointed under para-
graph (1)(E) shall be fairly balanced in terms
of points of views represented and shall be ap-
pointed without regard to political affiliation or
previous partisan activities.
‘‘(f) REPORT.—The Secretary shall prepare a report
describing the activities of the National Summit and shall
submit the report to the President, the Speaker and Mi-
nority Leader of the House of Representatives, the Major-
ity and Minority Leaders of the Senate, and the chief exec-
utive officers of the States not later than 90 days after
the date on which the National Summit is adjourned.
‘‘(g) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the
term ‘State’ means a State, the District of Columbia, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, the Virgin Islands,
American Samoa, and any other territory or possession
of the United States.
‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be
appropriated for fiscal years beginning on or after
October 1, 2000, such sums as are necessary to
carry out this section.
‘‘(2) RELIANCE ON PRIVATE CONTRIBUTIONS.—
The Secretary may accept private contributions, in
the form of money, supplies, or services, to defray
the costs of the National Summit. The Secretary
shall ensure, to the extent practicable, that at least
one-half of the funds available to the Secretary for
each fiscal year to carry out the provisions of this
section consist of such private contributions.
‘‘(i) CONTRACTS.—The Secretary may enter into con-
tracts to carry out the Secretary’s responsibilities under
this section, but only to the extent, or in such amounts,
as are provided in advance in appropriations Acts.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con-
tents in section 1 of such Act (as amended by section 3
of this Act) is amended further by inserting after the item
relating to section 516 the following new item:
‘‘Sec. 518. National Summit on Long-Term Care and Financing.’’.
(c) AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR FIS-
CAL YEAR 2001.—Notwithstanding subsection (i) of sec-
tion 518 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act
of 1974 (added by this section), the amount authorized
to be appropriated for fiscal year 2001 to carry out such
section is an amount equal to $1,200,000.
TITLE III—FEDERAL OUTREACH
EFFORTS TO PROMOTE LONG-
TERM CARE
SEC. 301. OUTREACH BY THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part 5 of subtitle B of title I of
the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974
(29 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end
the following new section:
‘‘OUTREACH TO PROMOTE THE FINANCING AND
PURCHASE OF LONG-TERM CARE PROTECTION
‘‘SEC. 519. (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall
maintain an ongoing program of outreach to the public
designed to promote the financing and purchase of long-
term health care insurance by the American workforce.
‘‘(b) METHODS.—The Secretary shall carry out the
requirements of subsection (a) by means which shall en-
sure effective communication to the public, including pub-
lication of public service announcements, public meetings,
creation of educational materials, and establishment of a
site on the Internet.
‘‘(c) INFORMATION TO BE AVAILABLE.—The infor-
mation to be made available by the Secretary as part of
the program of outreach required under subsection (a)
shall include the following:
‘‘(1) a description of the vehicles currently
available to individuals and employers for purchasing
and maintaining long-term care coverage, specifically
including information explaining to employers, in
simple terms, the characteristics and operation of
the different long-term care insurance vehicles, in-
cluding steps to establish each such vehicle, and
‘‘(2) information regarding matters relevant to
purchasing long-term care insurance, such as—
‘‘(A) what constitutes long-term care,
‘‘(B) the forms of long-term care insur-
ance,
‘‘(C) the shortcomings of long-term care
provided under the medicaid and medicare pro-
grams, particularly ‘spend down’ requirements
and potential loss of independence,
‘‘(D) the importance of preparing for long-
term care needs early in life, and
‘‘(E) the importance of the timing of pur-
chasing long-term care insurance.
‘‘(d) ESTABLISHMENT OF SITE ON THE INTERNET.—
The Secretary shall establish a permanent site on the
Internet concerning long-term care. The site shall contain
at least the following information:
‘‘(1) a means for individuals to calculate their
possible long-term care needs, based on their retire-
ment income goal as a percentage of their preretire-
ment income;
‘‘(2) a description in simple terms of the com-
mon types of long-term care, as well as long-term
care insurance arrangements available to both indi-
viduals and employers (specifically including small
employers);
‘‘(3) materials explaining to employers in simple
terms the characteristics and operation of long-term
care insurance arrangements for their workers and
what the basic legal requirements are under this Act
and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and related
provisions of law, including the steps to establish
each such arrangement;
‘‘(4) copies of all educational materials devel-
oped by the Department of Labor, and by other
Federal agencies in consultation with such Depart-
ment, to promote long-term care savings by workers
and employers; and
‘‘(5) links to other sites maintained on the
Internet by governmental agencies and nonprofit or-
ganizations that provide additional detail on long-
term care insurance plans and related topics on sav-
ings or investing.
‘‘(e) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall coordinate
the outreach program under this section with similar ef-
forts undertaken by other public and private entities.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con-
tents in section 1 of such Act is amended by inserting
after the item relating to section 518 the following new
item:
‘‘Sec. 519. Outreach to promote the financing and purchase of long-term care
protection.’’.
SEC. 302. STUDY AND OUTREACH BY THE DEPARTMENT OF
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES.
(a) STUDY.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and
Human Services shall provide, in accordance with
this section, for a study in order to determine—
(A) future demand for long-term health
care services (including institutional and home
and community-based services) in the United
States in order to meet the needs in the 21st
century; and
(B) long-term options to finance the provi-
sion of such services.
(2) DETAILS.—The study shall include the fol-
lowing:
(A) An identification of the relevant demo-
graphic characteristics affecting demand for
long-term health care services, at least through
the year 2050.
(B) The viability and capacity of commu-
nity-based and other long-term health care serv-
ices under different Federal programs, includ-
ing through the medicare and medicaid pro-
grams, grants to States, housing services, and
changes in tax policy.
(C) How to improve the quality of long-
term health care services.
(D) The integration of long-term health
care services for individuals between different
classes of health care providers (such as hos-
pitals, nursing facilities, and home care agen-
cies) and different Federal programs (such as
the medicare and medicaid programs).
(E) The possibility of expanding private
sector initiatives, including long-term care in-
surance, to meet the need to finance such serv-
ices.
(F) An examination of the effect of enact-
ment of the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996 on the provision and
financing of long-term health care services, in-
cluding on portability and affordability of pri-
vate long-term care insurance.
(G) The financial impact of the provision
of long-term health care services on caregivers
and other family members.
(H) The impact of insurance options on
low-income older Americans, and the options for
eligibility to improve access to insurance, or
other non-medicaid coverage.
(I) The possible redesign of the medicaid
program to separate out the acute and long-
term care responsibilities of State and Federal
government, including options that allow a state
to permit an individual to contract with such
state for access to long-term care services in
lieu of spending down assets.
(J) The feasibility of developing a dem-
onstration program covering no more than 1
percent of the medicare population that would
allow an individual to supplement medicare cov-
erage by specific inclusion of long-term care in-
surance to cover the gaps in medicare.
(K) The feasibility of the medicare pro-
gram supplementing the cost of long-term care
insurance by using the actuarial value of the
skilled nursing and home health benefits.
(3) REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Secretary shall provide for a report on the
study under this subsection.
(B) 
RECOMMENDATIONS.—The 
report
shall include recommendations regarding each
of the following:
(i) The most effective and efficient
manner that the Federal government may
use its resources to educate the public on
planning for needs for long-term health
care services.
(ii) The public, private, and joint pub-
lic-private strategies for meeting identified
needs for long-term health care services.
(iii) The role of states in the financing
of long-term health care services.
(C) INCLUSION OF COST ESTIMATES.—The
report shall include cost estimates of the var-
ious options for which recommendations are
made.
(4) CONDUCT OF STUDY.—
(A) USE OF OUTSIDE EXPERTS.—The Sec-
retary of Health and Human Services shall seek
to enter into an appropriate arrangement with
any qualified non-governmental entity.
(B) CONSULTATION.—The study should be
conducted in consultation with experts from a
wide-range of groups from the public and pri-
vate sectors.
(b) ADDITIONAL OUTREACH TO SENIORS.—
(1) STATE COUNSELING PROGRAMS.—There are
authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 annually
to supplement senior health insurance counselling
programs in states to provide information on long
term care issues related to medicare and medicaid,
insurance, and other related matters. Such funding
shall be distributed in the same manner as funds au-
thorized and appropriated pursuant to the Omnibus
Budget and Reconciliation Act of 1990.
(2) INFORMATION OUTREACH.—The Secretary
of Health and Human Services shall create within
the Administration on Aging and Health Care Fi-
nancing Administration standing components dedi-
cated to information outreach on long-term care
issues.
(3) ESTABLISHMENT OF SITE ON THE INTER-
NET.—The Secretary of Health and Human Services
shall establish a permanent site on the Internet con-
cerning long-term care. The site shall contain at
least the following information:
(1) a means for individuals to calculate their
possible long-term care needs and public and private
coverage options;
(2) a description in simple terms of the com-
mon types of long-term care, as well as long-term
care insurance arrangements available, including a
comparison database of all insurance companies ac-
tively marketing products; and
(3) access to educational materials developed by
other Federal agencies, including links to other sites
maintained on the Internet by governmental agen-
cies and nonprofit organizations that provide addi-
tional detail on long-term care, caregiving, Federal
programs, and insurance.
SEC. 303. STUDY BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND
URBAN DEVELOPMENT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development shall, in consultation with the Sec-
retary of Health and Human Services, conduct a study
to identify and develop methods to better use the housing
stock in the United States to more effectively address the
housing component of the future long-term care needs of
the people of the United States, by—
(1) developing pilot programs to use home eq-
uity and reverse mortgage options so that individual
homeowners may build, retain, and use equity in
their homes—
(A) to pay for long-term care services so
that homeowners can age in place; and
(B) to enter into assisted living, continuing
care retirement communities, or other housing
options for seniors; and
(2) in consultation with the homeowners’ insur-
ance industry and other interested parties, deter-
mining the feasibility of homeowner insurance op-
tions that assist homeowners in retrofitting their
homes to better accommodate aging and disability
needs.
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Housing
and Urban Development shall submit a report to the Con-
gress on the results of the study under this section. The
report shall include recommendations for improving the
use of housing to address the long-term care needs of the
people of the United States.
SEC. 304. OUTREACH BY THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINIS-
TRATION.
(a) INFORMATION RELATING TO MEDICARE, MED-
ICAID, AND LONG-TERM CARE TO BE INCLUDED IN SO-
CIAL SECURITY ACCOUNT STATEMENTS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1143 of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b–13) is amended by
adding at the end the following new subsection:
‘‘Notices for Individuals Attaining Age 50
‘‘(d)(1) Statements provided under this section to in-
dividuals in the year following the year in which they at-
tain age 50 shall include, in addition to information other-
wise required under this section—
‘‘(A) a description of the benefits available
under title XVIII as hospital insurance benefits for
the aged and disabled and supplementary medical
insurance benefits for the aged and disabled,
‘‘(B) a description of the benefits available
under State plans for medical assistance under title
XIX, and
‘‘(C) information regarding the necessity for,
and assistance with respect to, planning and prepa-
ration prior to retirement for long-term care after
retirement.
‘‘(2) Information included in statements pursuant to
paragraph (1) shall be prepared in consultation with the
Secretary of Health and Human Services.’’.
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made
by paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to state-
ments issued after December 31, 2001. All state-
ments provided under section 1143 of the Social Se-
curity Act in 2002 to individuals who attained age
50 prior to 2001 shall include the information de-
scribed in section 1143(d)(1) of such Act.
(b) STUDY REGARDING LONG-TERM CARE.—
(1) STUDY.—As soon as practicable after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner
of Social Security shall, in consultation with the Sec-
retary of Health and Human Services, conduct a
study regarding—
(A) the most feasible means by which a
small portion of the wages paid to, and self-em-
ployment income derived by, individuals during
their working life could be directed toward the
purchase of long-term care insurance as a
means of necessary asset protection for pur-
poses of retirement,
(B) the savings obtainable in providing for
the financing of long-term care in the form of
regular payments made over the term of a full
work life, and
(C) the feasibility of providing for sup-
plementation by long-term care insurance of
benefits received as social security disability in-
surance benefits prior to attaining retirement
age.
(2) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner shall sub-
mit to the President and to each House of the Congress