95 Organizations Urge Support for Buchanan’s Lowering Costs for Caregivers Act

Broad Coalition of Health Care, Aging and Financial Services Organizations Calls on Congress to Provide Financial Relief for Family Caregivers

WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Vern Buchanan, Vice Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and Chairman of the Health Subcommittee, announced that 95 leading organizations led by AARP sent a letter to Congress sharing their support for Buchanan's bipartisan, bicameral Lowering Costs for Caregivers Act (H.R. 138 / S. 1565) and called on lawmakers to support Buchanan's bill

The Lowering Costs for Caregivers Act would help ease the financial burden on family caregivers by allowing individuals to use tax-free health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts on medical expenses for their parents and loved ones. Currently, caregivers are unable to take advantage of these tax-free accounts unless their parents are classified as dependents for tax purposes. Read more about the Lowering Costs for Caregivers Act here.

"Family caregivers make incredible sacrifices to support their loved ones, often while balancing jobs, raising families and managing their own financial responsibilities," said Buchanan. "As millions of Americans learn every year, caring for aging parents or loved ones can place a significant financial strain on families. With nearly 200,000 seniors in my district alone, caregiving assistance is critical to ensuring families can give their loved ones a dignified quality of life in their golden years. My Lowering Costs for Caregivers Act provides commonsense relief by allowing caregivers to use their own health care accounts to cover a parent's medical expenses. I'm grateful for the strong support from organizations across the country and will continue working to get this important legislation across the finish line."

"Family caregivers provide essential care that allows millions of older Americans to live independently, but too often, they're paying thousands of dollars out of pocket to do it," said Nancy LeaMond, AARP Executive Vice President and Chief Advocacy and Engagement Officer. "This commonsense, bipartisan bill would give caregivers more flexibility and financial relief by allowing them to use their health care accounts to cover a parent or parent-in-law's qualified medical expenses. We urge Congress to act swiftly to pass this legislation and give family caregivers the support they need."

Leading voices across the aging, health care, disability, financial services and patient advocacy communities signed the letter urging members of Congress to support Buchanan's Lowering Costs for Caregivers Act, including AARP; the Alzheimer's Association and Alzheimer's Impact Movement (AIM); the Alliance for Aging Research; the National Council on Aging; the Muscular Dystrophy Association; the Parkinson's Foundation; the National Multiple Sclerosis Society; the American Geriatrics Society; the Caregiver Action Network; and the National Alliance for Caregiving, among many others representing millions of caregivers and patients nationwide.

"The Lowering Costs for Caregivers Act is one important way to help provide families with economic relief," wrote the organizations in the letter. "This legislation would be an important step to help alleviate the financial challenges that millions of family caregivers experience every day, particularly those in the 'sandwich generation' who are caring for both their parents and their own children."

Read the full letter here or below.

Dear Congress,

We, the undersigned organizations, urge you to enact financial relief for family caregivers by including the bipartisan, bicameral Lowering Costs for Caregivers Act (S. 1565/H.R. 138) in any relevant legislation you advance in the 119th Congress. In the United States, family caregivers provide essential support to their older parents, spouses, siblings, grandparents, adult children, and other family members or friends so they can live independently in their homes. But the costs can be daunting - family caregivers, on average, spend more than $7,200 out-of-pocket caring for a loved one annually, or about 26 percent of their income.

Nearly half of family caregivers have experienced at least one negative financial impact, such as stopping saving or using up short-term savings, taking on more debt, leaving bills unpaid or paying them late, borrowing money from family and friends, or struggling to afford basics like food. Too often, employed caregivers leave the workforce or reduce their hours due to caregiving, resulting in a loss of income, retirement savings, benefits, and career mobility. The money families spend on caregiving costs helps keep people out of costly institutional settings, like nursing homes, saving taxpayers billions every year.

The Lowering Costs for Caregivers Act is one important way to help provide families with economic relief. The bill would allow a family caregiver who has a health savings account, flexible spending account, health reimbursement account, or Archer medical savings account to use the dollars in that account for the qualified medical expenses of a parent or parent-in-law, in addition to the individual's spouse and dependents, as currently permitted by law. This legislation would be an important step to help alleviate the financial challenges that millions of family caregivers experience every day, particularly those in the "sandwich generation" who are caring for both their parents and their own children.

Family caregivers need support as they take on the costs and responsibilities associated with caregiving. We look forward to working with you to enact the Lowering Costs for Caregivers Act. If you have any questions, please contact Rhonda Richards with AARP at [email protected].

Sincerely,

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