[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2486 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2486

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide that amounts paid 
  for foods for special dietary use, dietary supplements, or medical 
              foods shall be treated as medical expenses.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 19, 2005

 Mr. Burton of Indiana (for himself, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Paul, Mr. Terry, 
 and Mr. Gerlach) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                    the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide that amounts paid 
  for foods for special dietary use, dietary supplements, or medical 
              foods shall be treated as medical expenses.

    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 shall be known as the ``Dietary Supplement Tax Fairness 
Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) the inclusion of foods for special dietary use, dietary 
        supplements, and medical foods in the deduction for medical 
        expenses does not subject such items to regulation as drugs,
            (2) the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 treats such items as 
        allowable for the medical expense deduction, but only if such 
        items are prescribed drugs,
            (3) such items have been shown through research and 
        historical use to be a valuable benefit to human health, in 
        particular disease prevention and overall good health, and
            (4) children with inborn errors of metabolism, metabolic 
        disorders, and autism, and all individuals with diabetes, 
        autoimmune disorders, and chronic inflammatory conditions, 
        frequently require daily dietary interventions as well as 
        medical interventions to manage their conditions and such 
        dietary interventions often become a significant economic 
        burden on such individuals.

SEC. 3. AMOUNTS PAID FOR FOODS FOR SPECIAL DIETARY USE, DIETARY 
              SUPPLEMENTS, OR MEDICAL FOODS TREATED AS MEDICAL 
              EXPENSES.

    (a) In General.--Paragraph (1) of section 213(d) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to medical, dental, etc., expenses) is 
amended by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as subparagraphs (D) 
and (E), respectively, and by inserting after subparagraph (B) the 
following new subparagraph:
                    ``(C) for foods for special dietary use, dietary 
                supplements (as defined in section 201 of the Federal 
                Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act), and medical foods,''.
    (b) Special Rule for Insurance Covering Foods for Special Dietary 
Use, Dietary Supplements, and Medical Foods.--Subsection (d) of section 
213 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to medical, dental, 
etc., expenses) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph:
            ``(12) Special rule for insurance covering foods for 
        special dietary use, dietary supplements, and medical foods.--
        Amounts paid for insurance covering foods and supplements 
        referred to in paragraph (1)(C) shall be treated as described 
        in paragraph (1)(E) only if such foods and supplements comply 
        with applicable good manufacturing practices prescribed by the 
        Food and Drug Administration or with other comparable 
        standards.''.
    (c) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Subparagraph (E) of section 213(d)(1) of the Internal 
        Revenue Code of 1986, as redesignated by subsection (a), is 
        amended by striking ``subparagraphs (A) and (B)'' and inserting 
        ``subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C)''.
            (2) The last sentence of section 213(d)(1) of such Code is 
        amended by striking ``subparagraph (D)'' and inserting 
        ``subparagraph (E)''.
            (3) Paragraph (6) of section 213(d) of such Code is 
        amended--
                    (A) by striking ``and (C)'' and inserting ``(C), 
                and (D)'', and
                    (B) by striking ``paragraph (1)(D)'' in 
                subparagraph (A) and inserting ``paragraph (1)(E)''.
            (4) Paragraph (7) of section 213(d) of such Code is amended 
        by striking ``and (C)'' and inserting ``(C), and (D)''.
            (5) Sections 72(t)(2)(D)(i)(III) and 7702B(a)(4) of such 
        Code are each amended by striking ``section 213(d)(1)(D)'' and 
        inserting ``section 213(d)(1)(E)''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
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