Homecare for Seniors Act Introduced to House

WASHINGTON, D.C (September 26, 2018)—On September 13, 2018, Representatives Sam Johnson (R-Texas) and John Larson (D-Connecticut) introduced the Homecare for Seniors Act (HR 6813) in the House of Representatives. The act amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow seniors to use funds from health savings accounts for qualified homecare services.

Under the act, qualified homecare services include assistance with the activities of daily living (ADLs), including transferring, continence care and medication adherence services.

“The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) supports this important legislation and encourages Congress to continue to find innovative ways to help people receive care in their homes,” said NAHC president William A. Dombi in a press release. “We thank Congressmen Johnson and Larson for their leadership in seniors’ access to receiving home care.”

Homecare services have traditionally been funded out-of-pocket. In April 2018, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced non-skilled in-home care could be included Medicare Advantage plans in 2019 as a supplemental benefit.

The Act has been referred to the House Ways and Means Committee. Both Rep. Johnson and Rep. Larson are members of this committee.

Visit congress.gov and search HR 6813 for more information.