I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3749 
To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to provide for a standard 
medical expense deduction under the supplemental nutrition assistance 
program, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 12, 2017 
Mr. LAWSON of Florida (for himself, Mr. EVANS, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. WILSON 
of Florida, Ms. LEE, Ms. MOORE, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. MCGOV-
ERN, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. SOTO, Mr. NOLAN, 
Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM of New Mexico, 
Ms. NORTON, Mr. JEFFRIES, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. VELA, 
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. RUSH, and Mr. PAYNE) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in 
addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, 
and Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined 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 Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to provide 
for a standard medical expense deduction under the sup-
plemental nutrition assistance program, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘SNAP Standard Med-
ical Expense Deduction Act of 2017’’. 
SEC. 2. STANDARD MEDICAL EXPENSE DEDUCTION. 
Section 5(e)(5) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 
2008 (7 U.S.C. 2014(e)(5)) is amended— 
(1) in the paragraph heading, by striking ‘‘EX-
CESS MEDICAL’’ and inserting ‘‘MEDICAL’’; 
(2) by striking subparagraph (A) and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(A) STANDARD MEDICAL DEDUCTION.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 
(ii), a household containing an elderly or 
disabled member shall be entitled, with re-
spect to expenses other than expenses paid 
on behalf of the household by a third 
party— 
‘‘(I) if the amount of actual costs 
of allowable medical expenses incurred 
by the elderly or disabled member for 
a month, exclusive of special diets, is 
equal to or greater than $35, to a 
standard medical deduction for each 
month of an amount equal to— 
‘‘(aa) for fiscal year 2018, 
$140; and 
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‘‘(bb) for fiscal year 2019 
and each subsequent fiscal year, 
the applicable amount during the 
preceding fiscal year, as adjusted 
to reflect changes for the 12- 
month period ending the pre-
ceding June 30 in the Consumer 
Price Index for All Urban Con-
sumers: Medical Care published 
by the Bureau of Labor Statis-
tics of the Department of Labor; 
or 
‘‘(II) if the amount of actual 
costs of allowable medical expenses in-
curred by the elderly or disabled mem-
ber for a month, exclusive of special 
diets, is greater than the sum of the 
amount of that standard medical de-
duction and $35, to a deduction equal 
to the amount of those actual costs. 
‘‘(ii) EFFECT ON STATE AUTHORITY 
TO
ADJUST
STANDARD
MEDICAL
DEDUC-
TION.—Nothing in this subparagraph pre-
cludes— 
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‘‘(I) a State that has an ap-
proved standard medical deduction as 
of the date of enactment of the SNAP 
Standard Medical Expense Deduction 
Act of 2017 in an amount that is 
greater than the amount of the stand-
ard medical deduction described in 
item (aa) or (bb) of clause (i)(I), as 
applicable, from continuing in effect 
that standard medical deduction; or 
‘‘(II) the Secretary from approv-
ing a standard medical deduction in 
an amount that is greater than the 
amount of the standard medical de-
duction described in item (aa) or (bb) 
of clause (i)(I), as applicable.’’; and 
(3) in subparagraph (B)— 
(A) in the subparagraph heading, by in-
serting ‘‘ACTUAL COSTS’’ before ‘‘DEDUCTION’’; 
and 
(B) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘excess med-
ical expense deduction’’ and inserting ‘‘actual 
costs deduction described in clause (i)(II) of 
that subparagraph’’. 
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SEC. 3. REPORTS AND STUDIES. 
(a) STATE PERFORMANCE ON ENROLLING ELIGIBLE 
SENIORS AND INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES IN LOW- 
INCOME HEALTH AND NUTRITION BENEFITS.—Section 
17 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2026) 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(m) STATE PERFORMANCE ON ENROLLING ELIGI-
BLE SENIORS AND INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES IN 
LOW-INCOME HEALTH AND NUTRITION BENEFITS.— 
‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) COVERED PROGRAM.—The term ‘cov-
ered program’ means— 
‘‘(i) the supplemental nutrition assist-
ance program; 
‘‘(ii) the Medicare part D low-income 
subsidy under section 1860D–14 of the So-
cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–114); 
and 
‘‘(iii) the Medicare Savings Program, 
as defined in section 1144(c)(7) of the So-
cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b– 
14(c)(7)). 
‘‘(B) DISABLED
INDIVIDUAL.—The term 
‘disabled individual’ means a member of a 
household described in any of paragraphs (2) 
through (7) of section 3(j). 
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‘‘(C) ELDERLY
INDIVIDUAL.—The term 
‘elderly individual’ means a member of a house-
hold who is not less than 60 years old. 
‘‘(2) REPORTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than June 
30, 2018, and June 30 of each year thereafter, 
the Secretary, in collaboration with the Sec-
retary of Health and Human Services and the 
Commissioner of Social Security, shall submit 
to the committees described in subparagraph 
(B) a report that assesses the effectiveness of 
each State in enrolling eligible elderly individ-
uals and disabled individuals in each covered 
program. 
‘‘(B) COMMITTEES DESCRIBED.—The com-
mittees referred to in subparagraph (A) are— 
‘‘(i) of the House of Representa-
tives— 
‘‘(I) the Committee on Agri-
culture; 
‘‘(II) the Committee on Ways 
and Means; and 
‘‘(III) the Committee on Energy 
and Commerce; and 
‘‘(ii) of the Senate— 
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‘‘(I) the Committee on Agri-
culture, Nutrition, and Forestry; and 
‘‘(II) the Committee on Finance. 
‘‘(3) SPECIFIC
MEASURES.—The report sub-
mitted under paragraph (2)(A) shall include, with 
respect to the previous fiscal year— 
‘‘(A) an estimate of the number of elderly 
individuals and the number of disabled individ-
uals, by State, who were eligible for each cov-
ered program; 
‘‘(B) an estimate of the number of elderly 
individuals and the number of disabled individ-
uals, by State, who participated in each covered 
program; 
‘‘(C) an estimate of the number of elderly 
individuals and the number of disabled individ-
uals who were eligible for all 3 covered pro-
grams; 
‘‘(D) an estimate of the number of elderly 
individuals and the number of disabled individ-
uals who participated in all 3 covered programs; 
and 
‘‘(E) an estimate of— 
‘‘(i) the number of individuals whose 
eligibility for each covered program was 
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initiated through an application with the 
Social Security Administration; 
‘‘(ii) the number of individuals de-
scribed in clause (i) who qualified for each 
covered program; and 
‘‘(iii) the number of individuals de-
scribed in clause (i) who participated in 
each covered program. 
‘‘(4) PERFORMANCE INNOVATIONS.—The report 
submitted under paragraph (2)(A) shall include a 
description of best practices of 1 or more States 
with the best performances for that fiscal year, or 
the most improved performances from the previous 
fiscal year, under each of the measures described in 
paragraph (3).’’. 
(b) STUDIES ON DISABILITY AND FOOD INSECU-
RITY.—Section 17 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 
(7 U.S.C. 2026) (as amended by subsection (a)) is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(n) STUDIES ON DISABILITY AND FOOD INSECU-
RITY.— 
‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF DISABLED INDIVIDUAL.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In this subsection, the 
term ‘disabled individual’ means a member of a 
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household described in any of paragraphs (2) 
through (7) of section 3(j). 
‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—In this subsection, the 
term ‘disabled individual’ includes a member of 
a household who, as determined by the Sec-
retary— 
‘‘(i) is not considered disabled under 
subparagraph (A); but 
‘‘(ii) has a physical, mental, or sen-
sory condition that limits the daily activi-
ties of the individual. 
‘‘(2) STUDIES.—The Secretary— 
‘‘(A) shall carry out a study— 
‘‘(i) on the relationship between dis-
ability and food insecurity for disabled in-
dividuals; 
‘‘(ii) on the effectiveness of Federal 
food assistance programs in responding to 
the causes of food insecurity in households 
with disabled individuals; and 
‘‘(iii) making recommendations for 
how Federal food assistance programs 
could be improved to better meet the needs 
of households with disabled individuals; 
and 
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