Senator Amy Klobuchar
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced three bills on August 6 that offer supports to seniors and their families.
Two of the bills aim to prevent abuses in the long-term care market. The other addresses the burdens, financial and otherwise, that family caregivers bear.
“More families are looking to buy long-term care insurance, but the insurance companies haven’t always played fair,” said Klobuchar. “I believe consumers have a right to know exactly what’s in their insurance policies and they deserve to have their claims paid promptly without having to go to court.”
The Long-Term Care Insurance Consumer Right-to-Know Act addresses the problem of confusingly complex long-term care insurance policies by establishing a requirement for insurance companies to provide consumers with a one-page, streamlined, standardized explanation of their long-term care policies
The Long-Term Care Integrity Act calls for the creation of an independent third-party review board to address situations in which a consumer’s policy claim is denied.
The third bill, the Americans Giving Care to Elders Act (AGE), would amend the Internal Revenue Code to establish a federal tax credit to help with the costs of caregiving. According to a press release, it would also “strengthen support for family caregivers by establishing the National Caregiving Resource Center. This will be a central clearinghouse where families, public agencies and private organizations can learn about best practices and promising innovations to support families in their caregiving roles. This legislation will also strengthen the National Family Caregiver Support Program, which helps fund direct services to family caregivers.”
The bills are co-sponsored by Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD). The senators say they will try to have the bills included in the larger health reform package now making its way through Congress.
“These bills would provide important consumer protections related to private long-term care insurance that can help these policies become a more significant contributor to the financing of services for elders and people with disabilities,” said PHI National Policy Director Steve Edelstein.
“But as Congress seeks to support long-term care consumers, it is also essential that it include provisions like those in Senator Kohl’s Retooling for an Aging America Bill to recruit and train a direct care workforce capable of providing these services when family members are not available for day-to-day caregiving.”
