WISH Act Would Provide Long-Term Care Insurance

Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY-3) has introduced the Well-Being Insurance for Seniors to be at Home (WISH) Act, H.R. 4289, in the House of Representatives to create a catastrophic long-term care insurance program.

The WISH Act calls for the creation of a public-private relationship to provide long-term care coverage for older adults. On the public side, the federal government would collect a new payroll tax of 0.3 percent of wages from both employer and employee, or a combined 0.6 percent from the self-employed. On the private side, it is expected that private insurance companies would be unburdened of providing catastrophic levels of coverage and would create more affordable long-term care coverage options.

Eligible beneficiaries would need to either suffer from dementia or require assistance with at least two activities of daily living. Beneficiaries would also be required to have worked and contributed for 40 quarters to a new Long-Term Care Insurance Trust Fund. Upon meeting these requirements, and subject to the applicable waiting period, beneficiaries would be eligible to receive up to approximately $3,600 per month, enough to cover approximately six hours of daily care...

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