[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3266 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3266

To amend title XXIX of the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize the 
      program under such title relating to lifespan respite care.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 26, 2011

  Mr. Langevin (for himself and Mrs. McMorris Rodgers) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                                Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title XXIX of the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize the 
      program under such title relating to lifespan respite care.

    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 ``Lifespan Respite Care 
Reauthorization Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) There are an estimated 62,000,000 family caregivers 
        nationwide that provide care for loved ones with chronic, 
        disabling health conditions across the lifespan.
            (2) The economic value of uncompensated family caregiving 
        to the United States economy was estimated at $450,000,000,000 
        in 2009, more than total Medicaid spending of $366,000,000,000, 
        including both Federal and State contributions for medical and 
        long-term care in the same year.
            (3) While caring for the aging population remains a growing 
        concern, more than half of care recipients are under age 75, 
        and almost one-third are under age 50.
            (4) Respite provides temporary relief to caregivers from 
        the ongoing responsibility of caring for individuals of all 
        ages with special needs.
            (5) Respite care is the most frequently requested family 
        support service.
            (6) Respite has been shown to provide family caregivers 
        with the relief necessary to maintain their own health, balance 
        work and family, bolster family stability, keep marriages 
        intact, and avoid or delay more costly nursing home or foster 
        care placements.
            (7) Delaying nursing home, institutional, or foster care 
        placement of just one individual for several months can save 
        Medicaid, child welfare, or other government programs tens of 
        thousands of dollars.
            (8) The Lifespan Respite Care Act of 2006 was originally 
        enacted to improve the delivery and quality of respite care 
        services available to families across all age and disability 
        groups by establishing coordinated lifespan respite systems.
            (9) Twenty-nine States and the District of Columbia have 
        received grants under the Lifespan Respite Care Act of 2006 to 
        improve the availability and quality of respite services across 
        the lifespan.
            (10) For the Nation's wounded service members and veterans 
        with traumatic brain injuries and other conditions, respite 
        systems could be an integral lifeline for families in their new 
        roles as life long family caregivers.
            (11) The Department of Veterans Affairs and Congress have 
        both acknowledged the unique challenges facing caregivers of 
        returning service members and veterans, as well as the need for 
        increased caregiver services.
            (12) Only 15 percent of caregivers caring for veterans have 
        received respite services from the Veterans Administration or 
        some other community organization in 2010.
            (13) The increased utilization of, and costs to, long-term 
        care systems requires the continued development of coordinated 
        family support services like lifespan respite care.

SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION OF LIFESPAN RESPITE CARE PROGRAM.

    Section 2905 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300ii-4) 
is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting a semicolon; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) $2,500,000 for fiscal year 2012;
            ``(7) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2013;
            ``(8) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2014;
            ``(9) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2015; and
            ``(10) $17,500,000 for fiscal year 2016.''.
                                 <all>