Vitter Introduces Health Care Amendments to Budget Resolution

(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Sen. David Vitter today introduced two amendments to the Senate Budget Resolution that would ensure greater health care opportunities for seniors.

The first amendment would create a reserve fund in the federal government’s budget to provide seniors and families access to long-term care insurance to help families with the cost of long-term care.

“This amendment ensures that our federal budget creates opportunities to help make long-term care more affordable and accessible, alleviating some of the stress placed on our elder citizens and their family members,” Vitter said. “Helping families gain access to affordable long-term care will better enable them to take care of their loved ones.”

Vitter has a stand-alone bill that would provide a non-refundable tax credit of 50 percent of the cost of annual premiums for long-term care insurance to individuals who purchase long-term care insurance for themselves or their spouse and to family members who purchase long-term care insurance for another immediate family member or a dependent.

Vitter’s other amendment would ensure that stopping Medicare reimbursement cuts to physicians would be a priority in the budget.

“My budget amendment would keep Medicare reimbursements for physicians in tact to ensure that we can continue to provide our seniors access to quality health care,” said Vitter.