AARP sent me a email with the above question. They are advocating for the government to provide the relief. I am opposed to this. It's just not governments responsibility.
I'd want to see any proposal for this before it's enacted, but it does seem fair to me in theory to grant a tax credit for care-giving to incapacitated family members. I don't see this as much different from a child tax credit or education credit, and perhaps it's even more necessary, especially if a fully employed family member has had to forfeit their income to stay home and provide care.
This is a very important issue to me Lon because so many Caregivers do have to give up jobs, etc. to be able to care for their loved ones. I don't know what the solution should be...I just know Caregivers do need help.
It's important for the country as a whole, too. Caregivers very often end up with stress related illnesses, often life-lon ones, that become a burden on our health care system. This is also a burden on our taxes if taxes are funding the health care system such as the Canadian system or Medicare/Medicaid in the U.S. Some sort of payment would allow for respite care for those who can't afford it and this would go a long way toward relieving the stress which causes these illnesses. Further, these families are often in financial need to the point where they have to start drawing from the safety net -- another burden on taxes.
The reason I purchased my Long Term Care Insurance Policy when I retired was to avoid being a financial burden to ANY of my family or to taxpayers. A Tax Credit for those that purchase such policies would help.
I looked at them. What they paid was, in my view, meaningless. What was available wasn't enough to cover much of anything. And the price for so little was outrageous.
You didn't look hard enough. I pay and have paid $90 monthly since 1992. Premiums are presently being waived because I am receiving benefits. There is NO dollar limit or time period with my policy. I have been paid $126,000.00 in the past three years.
I looked before that, Lon. I'm thankful to say I got to the place where I no longer needed it after that.
Dunno. Whilst I do understand and quite frankly agree with @Lon Tanner about government and our health, I have to also agree with @D’Ellyn Dottir among others. The government is already in the insurance business albeit a nasty sort of affair. This country already sends money all over the world for some sort of foreign aid including small science and social projects that we shouldn’t in any way be involved in. We already provided research grants to study everything from shrimp on treadmills to the effects of alcohol on Irish prostitutes and are also in some heavy talks about free college educations so…..? Again, I do not know but it seems to me if we can provide expenses for all these other endeavors that have little or no real impact on American life, we can back off on those and help take care of those seniors and even younger ones who need a caregiver. There are presently some programs and even more coming up for single mothers in need of day care and many businesses get tax credits for maternity leaves and businesses also get tax credits for hiring war veterans. It’s a great question Lon and I think it should be discussed more than it has been.
I believe that if the Health Care system pays others to come in and take care of a person in their homes...then I think if a family member can give that same care they should be eligible to be paid by the Health Care system too.
If a son of mine were a doctor and I used him as my Primary doctor, my insurance would still pay him so yeah, I can go with you on that.
I also don't think they should give to care organizations like nursing homes either. Some people have better lives than others and thats just the way it is. Unless somebody paid SSI they should not be eligible for welfare from others. The worker who was forced to pay SSI his whole employed life should and his spouse . This is the way it was before we slowly became a communist nation ruled by tyrants. We never would have survived under such conditions as we have now.Rgw indigents and slothes would have not been willing to fight for something they didn't earn.
I guess now that we don't have charity for rhose who are unable to work like widows and children or truely disabled things are different.