[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 22 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. CON. RES. 22

Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to promoting coverage of 
              individuals under long-term care insurance.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 23, 1999

    Mr. Dodd (for himself and Mr. Grassley) submitted the following 
 concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to promoting coverage of 
              individuals under long-term care insurance.

    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring),

SECTION 1. PROMOTION OF COVERAGE OF INDIVIDUALS UNDER LONG-TERM CARE 
              INSURANCE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) As the baby boom generation begins to retire, funding 
        social security and Medicare will put a strain on the financial 
        resources of younger Americans.
            (2) Medicaid was designed as a program for the poor, but in 
        many States Medicaid is being used for middle income elderly 
        people to fund long-term care expenses.
            (3) In the coming decade, people over age 65 will represent 
        20 percent or more of the population, and the proportion of the 
        population composed of individuals who are over age 85, and 
        most likely to need long-term care, may double or triple.
            (4) With nursing home care now costing an average of 
        $40,000 to $50,000 per year, long-term care expenses can have a 
        catastrophic effect on families, wiping out a lifetime of 
        savings before a spouse, parent, or grandparent becomes 
        eligible for Medicaid.
            (5) Many people are unaware that most long-term care costs 
        are not covered by Medicare and that Medicaid covers long-term 
        care only after the person's assets have been exhausted.
            (6) Widespread use of private long-term care insurance has 
        the potential to protect families from the catastrophic costs 
        of long-term care services while, at the same time, easing the 
        burden on Medicaid as the baby boom generation ages.
            (7) The Federal Government has endorsed the concept of 
        private long-term care insurance by establishing Federal tax 
        rules for tax-qualified policies in the Health Insurance 
        Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
            (8) The Federal Government has ensured the availability of 
        quality long-term care insurance products and sales practices 
        by adopting strict consumer protections in the Health Insurance 
        Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the Federal Government should take all appropriate 
        steps to inform the public about the financial risks posed by 
        rapidly increasing long-term care costs and about the need for 
        families to plan for their long-term care needs;
            (2) the Federal Government should take all appropriate 
        steps to inform the public that Medicare does not cover most 
        long-term care costs and that Medicaid covers long-term care 
        costs only when the beneficiary has exhausted his or her 
        assets;
            (3) the Federal Government should take all appropriate 
        steps not only to encourage employers to offer private long-
        term care insurance coverage to employees, but also to 
        encourage both working-aged people and older citizens to obtain 
        long-term care insurance either through their employers or on 
        their own;
            (4) appropriate committees of Congress, together with the 
        Department of Health and Human Services and other appropriate 
        executive branch agencies, should develop specific ideas for 
        encouraging Americans to plan for their own long-term care 
        needs; and
            (5) the congressional tax-writing committees, together with 
        the Department of the Treasury, should determine whether 
        modification of the tax rules for long-term care insurance is 
        necessary to ensure that the rules adequately facilitate the 
        affordability of long-term care insurance.
                                 <all>