Grassley Works to Help Seniors and People With Disabilities Get Care They Need at Home

Press Release

GRASSLEY WORKS TO HELP SENIORS AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES GET CARE THEY NEED AT HOME

Federal legislation introduced today by Senator Chuck Grassley would make it easier for states to provide Medicaid home and community-based services to seniors and Americans with disabilities, and empower individuals to manage the financial burdens that come with caregiving needs.

Grassley said the bill is part of his ongoing effort to enable people to stay at home rather than live in an institution. "Being able to live at home greatly improves a person's quality of life because they're with loved ones and they have the dignity that goes with greater independence," Grassley said. He said home and community-based services make more sense for state and federal budgets, too, "because institutional care is the most expensive form of long-term care that Medicaid pays for."

The Medicaid components of the "Empowered at Home Act of 2008" succeed legislation that Grassley sponsored in 2005 to give states better options for providing home and community-based services in Medicaid as an alternative to institutional care. Some components of the 2005 legislation became law in 2006, as part of a Deficit Reduction Act that Grassley shepherded through Congress as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance. Grassley said that Iowa has been a national leader in taking advantage of the opportunities created by the change in federal law, and that today's bill is designed to encourage additional states to do the same and provide Medicaid home and community-based services to those in need.

The "Empowered at Home Act of 2008" would:

* increase the income level that states can cover through the home and community-based services option created in 2006.
* give states the option of implementing "interventional" home and community-based services. A state can choose to offer home and community-based services to people who are on a pathway to accessing the Medicaid institutional benefit before they are Medicaid eligible.
* provide grant money for states to administer expanded home and community-based services.
* give states the option of allowing people to hold more of their assets so they can maintain their home while receiving home and community-based services.

The legislation introduced today also builds on Grassley efforts to help individuals and families manage caregiving costs by making long-term care insurance more affordable. The proposal would:

* allow individuals to take an above-the-line federal tax deduction for long-term care insurance premiums.
* provide a federal tax credit to long-term caregivers.
* permit employers, for the first time, to offer qualified long-term care insurance to employees in cafeteria plans and through tax-free Flexible Spending Accounts.

Grassley introduced today's bill with Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts. Grassley is Ranking Member and Kerry is a senior member of the Senate Committee on Finance, which is responsible for Medicaid and tax legislation.

"The more we can do to make it possible for people to get the care they need at home, the better for seniors, people with disabilities and taxpayers," Grassley said.

Source