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The Caregivers Investment Bill
- HB 751 is patroned by Delegates Franklin Hall and Vance Wilkins and SB 386 is patroned by Senator Stanley Walker.
- Eligibility under the Caregivers Investment Bill would be open to all Virginia taxpayers, with Adjusted Gross Income between $5,000 and $50,000 , who provide unreimbursed care to a relative who requires assistance with two or more activities of daily living (ADLs) during more than half the taxable year. ADLs include dressing/grooming, bathing, feeding, toileting, and walking. Taxpayers who apply for a tax credit under this new section of the Code will affirm by signing and submitting their tax return that the person for whom they provide care met the aforementioned criteria.
- Approximately 27,000 Virginians would be eligible for an average $381 tax credit under the Caregivers Investment Bill. Typically, less than half of people eligible eventually do participate in programs designed to benefit people with disabilities. The Caregivers Investment Bill would cost only $4.2 million if 40 percent of eligible Virginians sought the tax credit. Even if every eligible person sought the tax credit, its cost would be less than $10.5 million.
- Forty-five percent of people with two or more impairments of ADLs do not require assistance. If every one of those people not requiring assistance suddenly needed help, the tax credit still would cost only about $20 million.
- Passage of the Caregivers Investment Bill would be a dramatic and important statement of Virginia�s recognition that family caregivers make the Commonwealth a better place for all Virginians. A tax credit averaging $381 may seem small but it can be the decisive factor in the ability to provide care in the home and avoid institutionalization of a family member. For example, the tax credit could provide respite care, help make affordable caregiving supplies or a much needed renovation of the family-member�s living space, or even put three square meals on the table.
- The financial benefits of the Caregivers Investment Bill to the Commonwealth will be substantial because institutional care expenses ($20,000 or more per person annually) can be avoided and Medicaid dollars saved. More important, many citizens with disabilities will be able to remain as contributing members of the community.
Home and Community-Based Services
- Home and community based services include provision of in-home care, transportation, home delivered meals, respite and adult day care.
- More than 10,000 older Virginians have assessed critical unmet needs for home and community based services to enhance their quality of life. If these services are unavailable, these citizens will be placed at risk of being unable to remain in their own homes.
- Most families caring for a member with Alzheimer�s are able to do so precisely because of access to services which enable the person with Alzheimer�s to function effectively at home for longer periods of time. Home care is preferred by most families and is a cost-effective alternative to early or inappropriate nursing home placement.
- The Alzheimer�s Association has endorsed proposed legislation to increase funding by $5.25 million in fiscal year 1998. If the assessed needs for home and community-based services of all older Virginians were funded, the cost would be slightly less than $33 million.
 © 1997 - 2001 Alzheimer's Association, National Capital Area. All rights reserved.
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