[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2108 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2108

 To amend chapter 19, of title 38, United States Code, to provide that 
    Service-members' Group Life Insurance and Veterans' Group Life 
   Insurance under such chapter may, upon application, be paid to an 
                 insured person who is terminally ill.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 21, 1998

Mr. Specter (by request) introduced the following bill; which was read 
        twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend chapter 19, of title 38, United States Code, to provide that 
Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance and Veterans' Group Life Insurance 
under such chapter may, upon application, be paid to an insured person 
                         who is terminally ill.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This act may be cited as the ``Servicemembers' and Veterans' Group 
Life Insurance Accelerated Death Benefits Act''.

SEC. 2. OPTION TO RECEIVE ACCELERATED DEATH BENEFITS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 19 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end of subchapter III the following new 
section:
Sec. 1980. Option to receive accelerated death benefits
    ``(a) For the purpose of this section, a person shall be considered 
to be `terminally ill' if such person has a medical prognosis that such 
person's life expectancy is less than a period prescribed by regulation 
by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. The maximum time period 
prescribed in regulation shall not exceed 12 months.
    ``(b) The Department of Veterans Affairs shall prescribed 
regulations under which any terminally ill person insured under 
Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance or Veterans' Group Life Insurance 
may elect to receive in a lump-sum payment a portion of the face value 
of the insurance as an accelerated death benefit reduced by an amount 
necessary to assure that there is no increase in the actuarial value of 
the benefit paid, as determined in regulations issued by the Secretary. 
The Secretary may prescribe by regulation the maximum amount of the 
accelerated death benefit available under this section that the 
Secretary finds to be administratively practicable and actuarially 
sound, but in no instance shall the benefit exceed 50 percent of the 
face value of the person's insurance in force on the date the election 
is approved. The insured may elect to receive an amount that is less 
than the maximum prescribed by the Secretary. The Secretary shall 
prescribe in regulation increments in which the partial benefit can be 
elected.
    ``(c) The portion of the face amount of the insurance which was not 
paid in a lump sum as accelerated death benefits shall remain payable 
in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
    ``(d) Deductions under section 1969 and premiums under section 
1977(c) shall be reduced, in a manner consistent with the percentage 
reduction in the face amount of the insurance as a result of payment of 
accelerated death benefits, effective with respect to any amounts which 
would otherwise become due on or after the date of payment under this 
subsection.
    ``(e) The regulations shall include provisions regarding the form 
and manner in which an application under this subsection shall be made 
and the procedures in accordance with which any such application shall 
be considered.
    ``(f) An election to receive benefits under this section shall be 
irrevocable, and not more than one such election may be made by any 
individual, even if the individual elects to receive less than the 
maximum amount of accelerated benefits prescribed by regulation.
    ``(g) If a person insured under Servicemembers' Group Life 
Insurance elects to receive accelerated death benefits under this 
section, and the insured's Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance is 
thereafter converted to Veterans' Group Life Insurance as provided in 
section 1968(b) of this title, the amount of accelerated benefits paid 
under this section shall reduce the amount of Veterans' Group Life 
Insurance available to the insured under section 1977(a) of this 
title.''.
    (b) Section 1970(g) of title 38, United States Code, is amended 
by--
            (1) striking ``of benefits'' in the first sentence and 
        inserting ``Any'' at the beginning of that sentence;
            (2) adding ``an insured or'' following ``or on account 
        of,''; and
            (3) adding the following at the end of the subsection: 
        ``Neither the amount of any payments made under this subchapter 
        nor the name and address of the recipient of such payments 
        shall be reported under subpart B of chapter 61 of the Internal 
        Revenue Code of 1986.''.
    (c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 19, title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding the 
following new item after the item relating to section 1979:

``1980. Option to receive accelerated death benefits.''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by section 2 shall take 
effect 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (e) All regulations necessary to implement these amendments shall 
be promulgated through notice and comment rulemaking in accordance with 
5 U.S.C. section 553.
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