1 | 1 | | I |
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2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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3 | 3 | | 1 |
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4 | 4 | | STSESSION H. R. 2082 |
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5 | 5 | | To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide for long-term care |
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6 | 6 | | insurance benefits, and for other purposes. |
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7 | 7 | | IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
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8 | 8 | | MARCH11, 2025 |
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9 | 9 | | Mr. S |
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10 | 10 | | UOZZI(for himself and Mr. MOOLENAAR) introduced the following bill; |
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11 | 11 | | which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means |
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12 | 12 | | A BILL |
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13 | 13 | | To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide |
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14 | 14 | | for long-term care insurance benefits, and for other purposes. |
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15 | 15 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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16 | 16 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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17 | 17 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 |
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18 | 18 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Well-Being Insurance 4 |
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19 | 19 | | for Seniors to be at Home Act’’ or the ‘‘WISH Act’’. 5 |
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20 | 20 | | SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 6 |
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21 | 21 | | (a) F |
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22 | 22 | | INDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 7 |
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23 | 23 | | (1) More than half of Americans entering old 8 |
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24 | 24 | | age today will have a long-term services and sup-9 |
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25 | 25 | | ports (in this section referred to as ‘‘LTSS’’) need, 10 |
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27 | 27 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2 |
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28 | 28 | | •HR 2082 IH |
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29 | 29 | | averaging $298,000 costs per person for about 2 1 |
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30 | 30 | | years of serious self-care disability, and more than 2 |
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31 | 31 | | half will be out-of-pocket, according to the U.S. De-3 |
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32 | 32 | | partment of Health and Human Services (in this 4 |
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33 | 33 | | section referred to as ‘‘HHS’’). 5 |
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34 | 34 | | (2) The population age 85 or older (which is a 6 |
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35 | 35 | | proxy for the number of elders needing LTSS) will 7 |
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36 | 36 | | double between 2022 and 2035, and nearly triple by 8 |
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37 | 37 | | 2050. This aging will outpace the number of work-9 |
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38 | 38 | | ing-age people, including family members, who can 10 |
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39 | 39 | | help seniors financially or with unpaid care. 11 |
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40 | 40 | | (3) Research has shown that most U.S. seniors 12 |
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41 | 41 | | could only afford less than a year of nursing home 13 |
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42 | 42 | | care, assisted living care, or extensive home care 14 |
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43 | 43 | | using their financial resources. Some can get by 15 |
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44 | 44 | | using unpaid (family) care, but most rely on a com-16 |
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45 | 45 | | bination of paid and unpaid care. 17 |
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46 | 46 | | (4) More than 1 in 5 middle-income seniors will 18 |
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47 | 47 | | end up impoverished, Medicaid eligible, and mostly 19 |
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48 | 48 | | using Medicaid to cover their LTSS costs. 20 |
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49 | 49 | | (5) Millions of older Americans—1 in 5—will 21 |
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50 | 50 | | need LTSS for more than 5 years, with a price tag 22 |
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51 | 51 | | that would impoverish nearly all American house-23 |
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52 | 52 | | holds if they faced that need. HHS projections show 24 |
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53 | 53 | | that older adults who need LTSS for more than 5 25 |
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55 | 55 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 3 |
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56 | 56 | | •HR 2082 IH |
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57 | 57 | | years incur nearly half of all LTSS expenses and 60 1 |
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58 | 58 | | percent of Medicaid’s LTSS spending. 2 |
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59 | 59 | | (6) Only 1 in 10 American adults (11 percent) 3 |
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60 | 60 | | have any private coverage for LTSS expenses, leav-4 |
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61 | 61 | | ing almost all middle-class American families to ex-5 |
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62 | 62 | | haust their nest-eggs and become impoverished be-6 |
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63 | 63 | | fore qualifying for Medicaid. 7 |
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64 | 64 | | (7) The Nation urgently needs to create meth-8 |
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65 | 65 | | ods for ordinary Americans to be able to take re-9 |
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66 | 66 | | sponsibility to plan for the risk of a substantial pe-10 |
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67 | 67 | | riod of disability during retirement years. 11 |
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68 | 68 | | (8) Given that Americans move and work across 12 |
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69 | 69 | | State lines so frequently, State-based LTSS plans 13 |
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70 | 70 | | encounter difficult administrative issues. Therefore, 14 |
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71 | 71 | | a solution to address LTSS needs for seniors must 15 |
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72 | 72 | | be anchored in a Federal insurance plan. Addition-16 |
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73 | 73 | | ally, since the time just after onset of disability is 17 |
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74 | 74 | | more predictable and manageable, a Federal insur-18 |
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75 | 75 | | ance plan should cover the risk of especially long pe-19 |
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76 | 76 | | riods of long-term care, leaving the early period of 20 |
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77 | 77 | | need to personal responsibility. 21 |
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78 | 78 | | (9) Those methods must also responsibly sup-22 |
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79 | 79 | | port the workforce providing supports and services. 23 |
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80 | 80 | | (b) P |
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81 | 81 | | URPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to enable 24 |
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82 | 82 | | most Americans to make plans that protect themselves 25 |
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85 | 85 | | •HR 2082 IH |
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86 | 86 | | and their families, to enable disabled older adults to sup-1 |
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87 | 87 | | port themselves in their communities during periods of se-2 |
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88 | 88 | | rious disability, to support the workforce providing direct 3 |
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89 | 89 | | services to elders living with disabilities, and to reduce 4 |
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90 | 90 | | what is now necessary reliance on Medicaid. 5 |
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91 | 91 | | SEC. 3. LONG-TERM CARE INSURANCE BENEFITS. 6 |
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92 | 92 | | (a) I |
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93 | 93 | | NGENERAL.—Title II of the Social Security Act 7 |
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94 | 94 | | (42 U.S.C. 401 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 8 |
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95 | 95 | | the following: 9 |
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96 | 96 | | ‘‘SEC. 235. LONG-TERM CARE INSURANCE BENEFITS. 10 |
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97 | 97 | | ‘‘(a) I |
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98 | 98 | | NGENERAL.—Every individual who— 11 |
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99 | 99 | | ‘‘(1) has attained retirement age (as defined in 12 |
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100 | 100 | | section 216(l)(1)); 13 |
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101 | 101 | | ‘‘(2) has filed an application for long-term care 14 |
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102 | 102 | | insurance benefits; 15 |
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103 | 103 | | ‘‘(3) is insured for long-term care insurance 16 |
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104 | 104 | | benefits (as determined under subsection (c)) at the 17 |
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105 | 105 | | time such individual’s application is filed; and 18 |
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106 | 106 | | ‘‘(4) has a continual serious functional dis-19 |
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107 | 107 | | ability (as defined in subsection (d)) and, at the time 20 |
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108 | 108 | | such individual’s application is filed, has had such 21 |
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109 | 109 | | disability for a substantial period of time (as deter-22 |
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110 | 110 | | mined under subsection (e)), 23 |
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111 | 111 | | shall be entitled to a long-term care insurance benefit for 24 |
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112 | 112 | | each month beginning with the 1st month in which the 25 |
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115 | 115 | | •HR 2082 IH |
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116 | 116 | | individual meets the criteria specified in paragraphs (1) 1 |
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117 | 117 | | through (4), and ending with the earlier of the month in 2 |
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118 | 118 | | which the individual dies or the 1st month in which the 3 |
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119 | 119 | | individual no longer has a continual serious functional dis-4 |
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120 | 120 | | ability (as so defined). 5 |
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121 | 121 | | ‘‘(b) B |
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122 | 122 | | ENEFITAMOUNT.—Such individual’s long- 6 |
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123 | 123 | | term care insurance benefit for each month shall be an 7 |
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124 | 124 | | amount equal to the product of— 8 |
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125 | 125 | | ‘‘(1) an estimate, to be determined by the Sec-9 |
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126 | 126 | | retary of Health and Human Services in consulta-10 |
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127 | 127 | | tion with the Department of Labor, of the median 11 |
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128 | 128 | | cost of 6 hours per day of paid personal assistance 12 |
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129 | 129 | | in the United States, indexed to wages in the long- 13 |
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130 | 130 | | term care sector, multiplied by 14 |
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131 | 131 | | ‘‘(2) the ratio (not greater than 1) of the num-15 |
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132 | 132 | | ber of quarters of coverage the individual has during 16 |
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133 | 133 | | the applicable base period (as defined in subsection 17 |
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134 | 134 | | (c)(2)) to 40. 18 |
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135 | 135 | | ‘‘(c) D |
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136 | 136 | | EFINITION OFINSUREDSTATUS.— 19 |
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137 | 137 | | ‘‘(1) I |
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138 | 138 | | N GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection 20 |
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139 | 139 | | (a), an individual shall be insured for long-term care 21 |
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140 | 140 | | insurance benefits in any month if the individual has 22 |
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141 | 141 | | 6 quarters of coverage during the applicable base pe-23 |
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142 | 142 | | riod. 24 |
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145 | 145 | | •HR 2082 IH |
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146 | 146 | | ‘‘(2) APPLICABLE BASE PERIOD .—For purposes 1 |
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147 | 147 | | of this subsection, the term ‘applicable base period’ 2 |
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148 | 148 | | means the period that begins with the 1st quarter of 3 |
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149 | 149 | | 2026. 4 |
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150 | 150 | | ‘‘(d) D |
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151 | 151 | | EFINITION OFCONTINUALSERIOUSFUNC-5 |
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152 | 152 | | TIONALDISABILITY.—For purposes of subsection (a), an 6 |
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153 | 153 | | individual shall be considered to have a continual serious 7 |
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154 | 154 | | functional disability if the person is a chronically ill indi-8 |
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155 | 155 | | vidual (as determined under section 7702B(c)(2) of the 9 |
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156 | 156 | | Internal Revenue Code of 1986) and is expected to remain 10 |
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157 | 157 | | a chronically ill individual (as so determined) for at least 11 |
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158 | 158 | | 1 year or until the individual’s death. 12 |
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159 | 159 | | ‘‘(e) D |
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160 | 160 | | EFINITION OFSUBSTANTIALPERIOD.— 13 |
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161 | 161 | | ‘‘(1) I |
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162 | 162 | | N GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection 14 |
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163 | 163 | | (a), a substantial period of time means— 15 |
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164 | 164 | | ‘‘(A) in the case of an individual who, at 16 |
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165 | 165 | | the time described in paragraph (3), has aver-17 |
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166 | 166 | | age indexed monthly earnings for long-term 18 |
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167 | 167 | | care equal to or less than the dollar amount 19 |
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168 | 168 | | representing the 40th percentile in the table es-20 |
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169 | 169 | | tablished under subsection (f) for such calendar 21 |
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170 | 170 | | year, 12 months; and 22 |
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171 | 171 | | ‘‘(B) in the case of an individual who, at 23 |
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172 | 172 | | such time, has average indexed monthly earn-24 |
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173 | 173 | | ings for long-term care greater than such dollar 25 |
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176 | 176 | | •HR 2082 IH |
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177 | 177 | | amount, 12 months plus 1 additional month for 1 |
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178 | 178 | | each 1.25 percentile interval above the 40th 2 |
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179 | 179 | | percentile for which the individual’s average in-3 |
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180 | 180 | | dexed monthly earnings for long-term care 4 |
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181 | 181 | | would attain (as specified in such table). 5 |
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182 | 182 | | ‘‘(2) T |
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183 | 183 | | ABLE OF EARNINGS.— 6 |
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184 | 184 | | ‘‘(A) I |
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185 | 185 | | N GENERAL.—The Commissioner of 7 |
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186 | 186 | | Social Security shall establish a table, for each 8 |
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187 | 187 | | calendar year beginning with calendar year 9 |
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188 | 188 | | 2026, setting forth— 10 |
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189 | 189 | | ‘‘(i) the dollar amount representing 11 |
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190 | 190 | | the 40th percentile among the average in-12 |
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191 | 191 | | dexed monthly earnings for long-term care 13 |
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192 | 192 | | (as determined under subparagraph (B)) 14 |
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193 | 193 | | of each individual who has attained age 62 15 |
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194 | 194 | | and whose primary insurance amount is 16 |
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195 | 195 | | first computed during such calendar year 17 |
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196 | 196 | | (or, for calendar year 2036, during any 18 |
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197 | 197 | | previous calendar year); and 19 |
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198 | 198 | | ‘‘(ii) the dollar amounts representing 20 |
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199 | 199 | | percentiles over 40 (increasing linearly 21 |
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200 | 200 | | from 40 in intervals of 1.25) among the 22 |
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201 | 201 | | average indexed monthly earnings for long- 23 |
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202 | 202 | | term care (as so determined) of each such 24 |
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203 | 203 | | individual. 25 |
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206 | 206 | | •HR 2082 IH |
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207 | 207 | | ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION OF AVERAGE IN -1 |
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208 | 208 | | DEXED MONTHLY EARNINGS FOR LONG -TERM 2 |
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209 | 209 | | CARE.—For purposes of this subsection, the av-3 |
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210 | 210 | | erage indexed monthly earnings for long-term 4 |
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211 | 211 | | care of an individual shall be determined under 5 |
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212 | 212 | | section 215(b) (as in effect on the date of en-6 |
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213 | 213 | | actment of this Act) as if such section were 7 |
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214 | 214 | | amended— 8 |
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215 | 215 | | ‘‘(i) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking 9 |
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216 | 216 | | ‘reduced—’ and all that follows through 10 |
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217 | 217 | | the end and inserting ‘reduced by the num-11 |
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218 | 218 | | ber of benefit computation years for which 12 |
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219 | 219 | | no wages were paid in and no self-employ-13 |
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220 | 220 | | ment income credited.’; and 14 |
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221 | 221 | | ‘‘(ii) in paragraph (2)(B)(ii), by strik-15 |
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222 | 222 | | ing ‘1950’ and inserting ‘2025’. 16 |
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223 | 223 | | ‘‘(3) T |
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224 | 224 | | IME OF CALCULATION .—The time de-17 |
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225 | 225 | | scribed in this paragraph is— 18 |
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226 | 226 | | ‘‘(A) in the case of an individual who has 19 |
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227 | 227 | | 40 quarters of coverage during the applicable 20 |
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228 | 228 | | base period (as defined in subsection (c)(2)) 21 |
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229 | 229 | | prior to becoming entitled to old-age insurance 22 |
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230 | 230 | | benefits, the time at which the individual’s pri-23 |
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231 | 231 | | mary insurance amount was first computed 24 |
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234 | 234 | | •HR 2082 IH |
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235 | 235 | | with respect to the individual’s application for 1 |
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236 | 236 | | such benefits; and 2 |
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237 | 237 | | ‘‘(B) in the case of any other individual, 3 |
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238 | 238 | | the time at which the individual files an appli-4 |
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239 | 239 | | cation for long-term care insurance benefits 5 |
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240 | 240 | | under this section. 6 |
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241 | 241 | | ‘‘(f) P |
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242 | 242 | | ROVISION OFINFORMATIONRELATING TOOB-7 |
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243 | 243 | | TAININGLONG-TERMCARE.—The Commissioner of So-8 |
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244 | 244 | | cial Security shall provide to each individual entitled to 9 |
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245 | 245 | | a long-term care insurance benefit under this section, as 10 |
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246 | 246 | | soon as practicable following the first day of the first 11 |
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247 | 247 | | month of such entitlement, information describing the 12 |
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248 | 248 | | steps the individual may take to obtain long-term care, 13 |
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249 | 249 | | including an explanation of the services (including care 14 |
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250 | 250 | | planning, care management, and administrative services 15 |
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251 | 251 | | for hired care providers, by referral or in-house, for a fee) 16 |
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252 | 252 | | provided by, and the appropriate contact information for, 17 |
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253 | 253 | | the Aging and Disability Resource Centers described in 18 |
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254 | 254 | | section 202(b)(8) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 and 19 |
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255 | 255 | | the area agencies on aging (as defined in section 102(6) 20 |
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256 | 256 | | of such Act). 21 |
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257 | 257 | | ‘‘(g) P |
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258 | 258 | | ROVISION OFBENEFICIARYINFORMATION BY 22 |
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259 | 259 | | A |
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260 | 260 | | NYPERSON.—Any person may submit applicable infor-23 |
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261 | 261 | | mation with respect to an individual’s application for long- 24 |
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262 | 262 | | term care insurance benefits, an annual statement de-25 |
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265 | 265 | | •HR 2082 IH |
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266 | 266 | | scribed under subsection (i)(2), or any other information 1 |
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267 | 267 | | required to be submitted by the individual under this title, 2 |
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268 | 268 | | including, as applicable, the individual’s representative, or 3 |
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269 | 269 | | any family member or other appropriate person. 4 |
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270 | 270 | | ‘‘(h) T |
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271 | 271 | | REATMENT OFLONG-TERMCAREINSURANCE 5 |
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272 | 272 | | B |
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273 | 273 | | ENEFITPAYMENTS.—A long-term care insurance benefit 6 |
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274 | 274 | | payment shall not be regarded as income and shall not 7 |
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275 | 275 | | be regarded as a resource for any month, for purposes 8 |
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276 | 276 | | of determining the eligibility of the recipient (or the recipi-9 |
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277 | 277 | | ent’s spouse or family) for benefits or assistance under 10 |
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278 | 278 | | any Federal program or under any State or local program 11 |
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279 | 279 | | financed in whole or in part with Federal funds. 12 |
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280 | 280 | | ‘‘(i) A |
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281 | 281 | | DDITIONALREQUIREMENTS.— 13 |
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282 | 282 | | ‘‘(1) R |
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283 | 283 | | ELATING TO WAGES AND WITHHOLDING 14 |
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284 | 284 | | RULES.—An individual entitled to a long-term care 15 |
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285 | 285 | | insurance benefit for a month during a calendar 16 |
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286 | 286 | | year shall, in any case in which such individual hires 17 |
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287 | 287 | | an employee who is not a family member to provide 18 |
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288 | 288 | | paid personal care to the individual during such 19 |
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289 | 289 | | month, comply with all applicable State and Federal 20 |
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290 | 290 | | laws relating to— 21 |
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291 | 291 | | ‘‘(A) the payment of a minimum wage; and 22 |
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292 | 292 | | ‘‘(B) the withholding of payroll taxes and 23 |
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293 | 293 | | other employment-related taxes. 24 |
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296 | 296 | | •HR 2082 IH |
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297 | 297 | | ‘‘(2) ANNUAL STATEMENT .—An individual enti-1 |
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298 | 298 | | tled to a long-term care insurance benefit for a 2 |
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299 | 299 | | month during a calendar year shall submit a state-3 |
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300 | 300 | | ment to the Commissioner of Social Security at least 4 |
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301 | 301 | | once during such calendar year, as directed by the 5 |
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302 | 302 | | Commissioner— 6 |
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303 | 303 | | ‘‘(A) affirming that the individual— 7 |
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304 | 304 | | ‘‘(i) continues to have a continual se-8 |
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305 | 305 | | rious functional disability (as defined in 9 |
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306 | 306 | | subsection (d)); and 10 |
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307 | 307 | | ‘‘(ii) is in compliance with the laws 11 |
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308 | 308 | | described in paragraph (1); and 12 |
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309 | 309 | | ‘‘(B) specifying the country of residence of 13 |
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310 | 310 | | the individual. 14 |
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311 | 311 | | ‘‘(3) N |
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312 | 312 | | ONPAYMENT OF BENEFITS IN CERTAIN 15 |
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313 | 313 | | CASES.—No long-term care insurance benefit shall 16 |
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314 | 314 | | be payable to an individual for any month— 17 |
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315 | 315 | | ‘‘(A) with respect to which the individual 18 |
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316 | 316 | | fails to satisfy any of the requirements de-19 |
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317 | 317 | | scribed in the preceding paragraphs of this sub-20 |
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318 | 318 | | section; or 21 |
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319 | 319 | | ‘‘(B) beginning after the fifth consecutive 22 |
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320 | 320 | | year with respect to which the individual has re-23 |
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321 | 321 | | ported, in the annual statement required under 24 |
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322 | 322 | | paragraph (2), a country of residence other 25 |
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325 | 325 | | •HR 2082 IH |
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326 | 326 | | than the United States (including any territory 1 |
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327 | 327 | | of the United States).’’. 2 |
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328 | 328 | | (b) E |
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329 | 329 | | STIMATES OFBENEFITS.—Section 1143(a)(2) 3 |
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330 | 330 | | of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b–13) is 4 |
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331 | 331 | | amended— 5 |
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332 | 332 | | (1) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 6 |
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333 | 333 | | the end; 7 |
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334 | 334 | | (2) in subparagraph (E), by striking the period 8 |
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335 | 335 | | at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 9 |
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336 | 336 | | (3) by adding at the end the following: 10 |
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337 | 337 | | ‘‘(F) an estimate of the potential long-term care 11 |
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338 | 338 | | insurance benefits payable to the individual.’’. 12 |
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339 | 339 | | SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF FEDERAL LONG-TERM CARE 13 |
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340 | 340 | | INSURANCE TRUST FUND. 14 |
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341 | 341 | | (a) I |
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342 | 342 | | NGENERAL.—There is hereby created on the 15 |
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343 | 343 | | books of the Treasury of the United States a trust fund 16 |
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344 | 344 | | to be known as the ‘‘Federal Long-Term Care Insurance 17 |
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345 | 345 | | Trust Fund’’. The Federal Long-Term Care Insurance 18 |
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346 | 346 | | Trust Fund shall consist of such gifts and bequests as 19 |
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347 | 347 | | may be made as provided in section 201(i)(1) of the Social 20 |
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348 | 348 | | Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401(i)(1)) and such amounts as 21 |
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349 | 349 | | may be appropriated to, or deposited in, the Federal Long- 22 |
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350 | 350 | | Term Care Insurance Trust Fund as provided in this sec-23 |
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351 | 351 | | tion. 24 |
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354 | 354 | | •HR 2082 IH |
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355 | 355 | | (b) APPROPRIATION.—There is appropriated to the 1 |
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356 | 356 | | Federal Long-Term Care Insurance Trust Fund out of 2 |
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357 | 357 | | moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated— 3 |
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358 | 358 | | (1) for each of fiscal years 2026, 2027, and 4 |
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359 | 359 | | 2028, $12,000,000 for the initial establishment of 5 |
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360 | 360 | | the Long-Term Care Insurance program and pay-6 |
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361 | 361 | | ment of benefits during such fiscal years; and 7 |
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362 | 362 | | (2) $50,000,000 for public education relating to 8 |
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363 | 363 | | the Long-Term Care Insurance program as de-9 |
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364 | 364 | | scribed in section 6(a). 10 |
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365 | 365 | | (c) M |
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366 | 366 | | ANAGEMENT OF TRUSTFUND.—The provisions 11 |
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367 | 367 | | of subsections (c), (d), (e), (f), (i), and (m) of section 201 12 |
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368 | 368 | | of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401) shall apply with 13 |
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369 | 369 | | respect to the Federal Long-Term Care Insurance Trust 14 |
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370 | 370 | | Fund in the same manner as such provisions apply to the 15 |
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371 | 371 | | Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and 16 |
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372 | 372 | | the Disability Insurance Trust Fund, except that the Man-17 |
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373 | 373 | | aging Trustee (within the meaning of subsection (d) of 18 |
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374 | 374 | | such section) may invest such portion of the Federal 19 |
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375 | 375 | | Long-Term Care Insurance Trust Fund as the Managing 20 |
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376 | 376 | | Trustee considers appropriate in conservative market se-21 |
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377 | 377 | | curities. 22 |
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378 | 378 | | (d) A |
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379 | 379 | | DMINISTRATION.—There are authorized to be 23 |
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380 | 380 | | made available for expenditure, out of the Federal Long- 24 |
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381 | 381 | | Term Care Insurance Trust Fund, such sums as may be 25 |
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383 | 383 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 14 |
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384 | 384 | | •HR 2082 IH |
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385 | 385 | | necessary to pay the costs of the administration of section 1 |
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386 | 386 | | 3, including start-up costs, technical assistance, outreach, 2 |
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387 | 387 | | education, evaluation, and reporting. 3 |
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388 | 388 | | (e) R |
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389 | 389 | | EPORT.—Not later than 5 years after the date 4 |
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390 | 390 | | of enactment of this Act and every 5 years thereafter, the 5 |
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391 | 391 | | Board of Trustees (as defined for purposes of title II of 6 |
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392 | 392 | | the Social Security Act) shall submit a report to Congress 7 |
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393 | 393 | | evaluating the impact of long-term care insurance benefits 8 |
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394 | 394 | | under section 235 of such Act and making recommenda-9 |
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395 | 395 | | tions relating to potential geographical adjustments of the 10 |
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396 | 396 | | amount of such benefits. 11 |
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397 | 397 | | (f) A |
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398 | 398 | | LLOWINGGIFTSTOBEMADE TO THEFEDERAL 12 |
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399 | 399 | | L |
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400 | 400 | | ONG-TERMCAREINSURANCETRUSTFUND.—Section 13 |
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401 | 401 | | 201(i)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401(i)(1)) 14 |
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402 | 402 | | is amended— 15 |
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403 | 403 | | (1) by striking ‘‘, or the Federal’’ and inserting 16 |
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404 | 404 | | ‘‘, the Federal’’; and 17 |
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405 | 405 | | (2) by inserting after ‘‘in such Trust Fund)’’ 18 |
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406 | 406 | | the following: ‘‘, or the Federal Long-Term Care In-19 |
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407 | 407 | | surance Trust Fund established under the Well- 20 |
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408 | 408 | | Being Insurance for Seniors to be at Home Act’’. 21 |
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409 | 409 | | SEC. 5. EDUCATION AND OUTREACH. 22 |
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410 | 410 | | (a) P |
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411 | 411 | | UBLICEDUCATIONPLAN.— 23 |
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412 | 412 | | (1) I |
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413 | 413 | | N GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 24 |
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414 | 414 | | the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 25 |
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417 | 417 | | •HR 2082 IH |
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418 | 418 | | Health and Human Services, in consultation with 1 |
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419 | 419 | | the Commissioner of Social Security, shall publish in 2 |
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420 | 420 | | the Federal Register a 10-year plan to educate the 3 |
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421 | 421 | | public about the likelihood of needing long-term 4 |
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422 | 422 | | care, the nature of the experience of long-term care 5 |
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423 | 423 | | in various situations, the costs of long-term care, the 6 |
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424 | 424 | | availability of long-term care insurance benefits, and 7 |
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425 | 425 | | the importance of planning and considering private 8 |
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426 | 426 | | insurance coverage alongside family support and 9 |
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427 | 427 | | savings (especially during the first years of a serious 10 |
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428 | 428 | | disability). Such plan shall be modified as necessary 11 |
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429 | 429 | | based on research on the effectiveness of various 12 |
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430 | 430 | | strategies and modifications with experience. 13 |
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431 | 431 | | (2) F |
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432 | 432 | | UNDING.—There are appropriated, out of 14 |
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433 | 433 | | the Federal Long-Term Care Insurance Trust Fund, 15 |
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434 | 434 | | to the Secretary of Health and Human Services 16 |
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435 | 435 | | $50,000,000 to carry out paragraph (1). 17 |
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436 | 436 | | (b) I |
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437 | 437 | | NDIVIDUALNOTICES.— 18 |
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438 | 438 | | (1) I |
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439 | 439 | | N GENERAL.—Beginning 1 year after the 19 |
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440 | 440 | | date of enactment of this Act and in accordance with 20 |
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441 | 441 | | paragraph (2), the Commissioner of Social Security 21 |
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442 | 442 | | shall provide to each eligible individual a notice that 22 |
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443 | 443 | | specifies— 23 |
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444 | 444 | | (A)(i) the average indexed monthly earn-24 |
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445 | 445 | | ings for long-term care that would be calculated 25 |
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447 | 447 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 16 |
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448 | 448 | | •HR 2082 IH |
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449 | 449 | | for the individual under paragraph (2)(B) of 1 |
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450 | 450 | | section 235(e) of the Social Security Act if such 2 |
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451 | 451 | | average indexed monthly earnings for long-term 3 |
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452 | 452 | | care were calculated in the month before the 4 |
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453 | 453 | | month such notice is provided; and 5 |
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454 | 454 | | (ii) for purposes of applying such section 6 |
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455 | 455 | | to the individual, the percentile in which such 7 |
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456 | 456 | | average indexed monthly earnings for long-term 8 |
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457 | 457 | | care of the individual would fall among the av-9 |
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458 | 458 | | erage indexed monthly earnings for long-term 10 |
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459 | 459 | | care (as determined under such paragraph 11 |
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460 | 460 | | (2)(B)) of each individual whose average in-12 |
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461 | 461 | | dexed monthly earnings for long-term care are 13 |
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462 | 462 | | calculated in such month; 14 |
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463 | 463 | | (B) the number of quarters of coverage the 15 |
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464 | 464 | | individual has in the month before the month 16 |
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465 | 465 | | such notice is provided for purposes of attaining 17 |
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466 | 466 | | insured status for long-term care insurance 18 |
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467 | 467 | | benefits under such Act; and 19 |
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468 | 468 | | (C) in any case in which the individual has 20 |
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469 | 469 | | a continual serious functional disability (as de-21 |
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470 | 470 | | fined in section 235(d) of such Act), the date 22 |
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471 | 471 | | on which such disability began. 23 |
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472 | 472 | | (2) T |
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473 | 473 | | IMING.—A notice described in paragraph 24 |
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474 | 474 | | (1) shall be provided— 25 |
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477 | 477 | | •HR 2082 IH |
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478 | 478 | | (A) by mail— 1 |
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479 | 479 | | (i) to each eligible individual not later 2 |
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480 | 480 | | than 540 days of the date of enactment of 3 |
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481 | 481 | | this Act; and 4 |
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482 | 482 | | (ii) to each eligible individual in the 5 |
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483 | 483 | | month the individual attains age 45, age 6 |
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484 | 484 | | 55, age 65, and retirement age (as defined 7 |
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485 | 485 | | in section 216(l) of such Act); and 8 |
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486 | 486 | | (B) for each eligible individual who has at-9 |
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487 | 487 | | tained age 35, by making such notice available 10 |
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488 | 488 | | on the individual’s account on the website of 11 |
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489 | 489 | | the Social Security Administration, to be up-12 |
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490 | 490 | | dated annually. 13 |
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491 | 491 | | (3) E |
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492 | 492 | | LIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—In this subsection, 14 |
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493 | 493 | | the term ‘‘eligible individual’’ means an individual— 15 |
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494 | 494 | | (A) who has a social security account num-16 |
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495 | 495 | | ber; and 17 |
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496 | 496 | | (B)(i) who has wages or net earnings from 18 |
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497 | 497 | | self-employment; or 19 |
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498 | 498 | | (ii) with respect to whom the Commis-20 |
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499 | 499 | | sioner has information that the pattern of 21 |
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500 | 500 | | wages or self-employment income indicate a 22 |
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501 | 501 | | likelihood of noncovered employment. 23 |
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504 | 504 | | •HR 2082 IH |
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505 | 505 | | SEC. 6. GAO REPORT ON PERFORMANCE OF THE WISH PRO-1 |
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506 | 506 | | GRAM. 2 |
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507 | 507 | | Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment 3 |
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508 | 508 | | of this Act and every 3 years thereafter, the Comptroller 4 |
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509 | 509 | | General shall submit a report to Congress including— 5 |
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510 | 510 | | (1) a description of the likelihood of manipula-6 |
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511 | 511 | | tion of eligibility criteria by beneficiaries or bene-7 |
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512 | 512 | | ficiary advisors and recommendations as to the mer-8 |
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513 | 513 | | its of possible remedies; 9 |
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514 | 514 | | (2) a description of the likelihood of financial 10 |
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515 | 515 | | exploitation or elder mistreatment by others on 11 |
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516 | 516 | | whom a beneficiary is dependent or otherwise con-12 |
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517 | 517 | | nected and recommendations as to the merits of pos-13 |
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518 | 518 | | sible remedies, including the merits of imposing a fi-14 |
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519 | 519 | | nancial management service or fiscal intermediary as 15 |
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520 | 520 | | has often been implemented by states in Medicaid’s 16 |
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521 | 521 | | Cash and Counseling program; and 17 |
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522 | 522 | | (3) a description of the marketplace and con-18 |
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523 | 523 | | sumer understanding of long-term insurance offer-19 |
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524 | 524 | | ings and recommendations as to the merits of pos-20 |
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525 | 525 | | sible remedies, including the merits of standardizing 21 |
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526 | 526 | | insurance offerings to improve consumer under-22 |
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527 | 527 | | standing. 23 |
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530 | 530 | | •HR 2082 IH |
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531 | 531 | | SEC. 7. REPORT ON REMAINING LONG-TERM SUPPORTS 1 |
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532 | 532 | | AND SERVICES NEEDS. 2 |
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533 | 533 | | Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 3 |
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534 | 534 | | of this Act and every 3 years thereafter, the Secretary of 4 |
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535 | 535 | | Health and Human Services, acting through the Adminis-5 |
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536 | 536 | | trator of the Administration on Community Living and in 6 |
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537 | 537 | | consultation with the Commissioner of Social Security, 7 |
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538 | 538 | | shall submit a plan to Congress that includes— 8 |
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539 | 539 | | (1) estimates of the long-term services and sup-9 |
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540 | 540 | | ports needed by individuals who are not eligible for 10 |
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541 | 541 | | benefits under section 235 of the Social Security 11 |
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542 | 542 | | Act, including individuals disabled in childhood, indi-12 |
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543 | 543 | | viduals living with disabilities before retirement age, 13 |
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544 | 544 | | and individuals who are not insured for benefits 14 |
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545 | 545 | | under such section; and 15 |
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546 | 546 | | (2) proposed strategies and costs of mitigating 16 |
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547 | 547 | | unmet needs for such individuals. 17 |
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548 | 548 | | Æ |
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