Important Tax Information From Alzheimer List

["Robert E. Meyer" <meyerre@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 01:13:41 -0700 (PDT)
>X-Sender: fjw@xxxxxxxxxxxx
>To: alzheimer@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>From: Frank Winslow <fjw@xxxxxxx>
>Subject: Re: [ALZ] TAX QUESTION
>Sender: owner-alzheimer@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Reply-To: alzheimer@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Comment: To unsubscribe, send the message "unsubscribe ALZHEIMER"
>Comment: (without the quotes) to majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>At 09:21 24/8/96 PST, you wrote:
>>Frank Winslow writes:
>>>The Kassebaum-Kennedy Health Insurance Bill (S.1028) that cleared
>>>Congress Aug 1 makes long-term or chronic care expenses in nursing
>>homes >and in home health care deductible as medical costs for federal
>income tax >purposes.
>>
>>     As one who is privately paying for the cost of 24 hour home care
>>(and I am sure there are many others on this listserve in comparable
>situations), this Bill is of significant interest. Frank (or others), are
>>there any further details available, i.e., how does it differ from the
>>current tax laws, when does it take effect (would it apply to 1995
>>expenses?), and what are the implications, say, for a child or sibling
>>who is paying these expenses for a loved one?
>>
>>Julian >Scher
>>
>>JScher@xxxxxxxx
>
>Julian,
>
>Anyone checking out my 24 Aug data would find, as I did, that my reference
>was to the original senate bill (my usually reliable source misled me). It
>should have been to the bill the president signed on Aug 21 HR 3103 Health
>Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.  Anyone wanting a copy
>may download it (596kb) from the Library of Congress' THOMAS.  The 3 Aug
>weekly update of the Congressional Quarterly has a summary and commmetary of
>the two bills.
>
>As to your questions I must leave any explanation of the law's impact upon
>your situation to the experts in insurance and federal taxes.  I can only
>refer to subject matter and anticipate clarification by rule-making by state
>insurance commissioners and the IRS.
>
>Matters of interest:
>
>The law is effective 1997.
>
>Sec 217. Criminal penalty for fraudulent disposal of assets to obtain
>medicaid benefits.  $10,000 and one year.
>
>Sec 321. Treatment of LTC Insurance.  The insurance industry wants people to
>buy LTC Insurance as they do acute health care coverage.  One inducement is
>to allow its costs to be treated by IRS as accident and health insurance.
>That is, premiums are deductable and the benefits exempt up to $63,875 per
>year.
>
>Sec 322. Qualified LTC services to be treated as medical care.  Refer to my
>comments of 24 August.  I am looking for clarification.
>
>Sec 331. Treatment of accelerated death benefits by recipient. Allows
>chronically or terminally ill individuals to receive death benefits before
>death without a tax penalty.
>
>
>Not much help for you, I regret.
>
>Frank
>