Massachusetts tax bill emerging as relief vehicle for seniors, caregivers

By Sam Drysdale

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, APRIL 4, 2023…..Gov. Maura Healey wants to make life easier for seniors at a time when the cost of living is soaring, but some in the Legislature think the state can do more.

As the House prepares a tax relief and reform plan this month, senior care advocates see an opportunity to push for a tax credit for family caregivers.

A Rep. David Rogers and Sen. Jason Lewis bill (H 2932 / S 764) would create a $1,500 tax credit for costs associated with taking care of elderly or disabled family members. Covered costs could include those associated with making changes to the caregiver’s house to make it more accessible, hiring a home care aide, purchasing assistive technology or for legal and financial services.

Lewis said he feels there is a “great opportunity” right now to push for this tax credit.

Healey put forward a major tax relief bill last month. Among other ideas for tax reform, it proposed a new streamlined $600 credit for family members who care for children younger than 13, disabled adults and seniors. Healey’s plan would also double the senior circuit breaker credit, which would give taxpayers who are eligible for the maximum credit an additional $1,200 back.

Lewis called Healey’s plan a great “first step,” but said the Legislature can do more when it weighs in on tax relief.

“We can and should do more and this tax credit is exactly the right idea. So that bill, that proposal is being debated by the House of Representatives in the next few weeks, it will likely be debated by the state Senate in May. And so this is a real timely opportunity to make our case,” he said.

James Lamastro, a senior care advocate who took care of his father for six years and mother for 10 years in their old age, said the credit would go a long way.

“I think the $1,500 refundable tax credit would have helped us in some ways to provide additional care for them that we otherwise wouldn’t have been able to do,” he said. “But I know a lot of families, and I work with a lot of families, who that $1,500 would be the difference between them remaining at home and going into a nursing home.”

To claim the credit under the bills, individual caregivers would have to make less than $75,000 and couples less than $150,000, and the credit would only reimburse costs directly related to a family member’s care.

Lewis argued that the credit could ultimately save the state money, if more families are able to care for their senior or disabled members at home instead of entering them into nursing homes or long-term care facilities, which can be partially paid for by MassHealth.

Rogers, the House co-sponsor of the bill, said he believes the proposed credit “strikes the right balance” of helping reduce the burden on families while managing costs incurred by the state.

“People don’t talk about the stress it puts on families, because on one hand you’re caring for someone you love deeply, on the other hand, these caregivers have other responsibilities in their life, in their career, in their work, their own children,” Rogers said.

Senior care advocates at the AARP virtual lobby day on Tuesday also felt the “time is right” for legislative priorities around nursing home reform, for which the Joint Committee on Elder Affairs is scheduled to have a hearing next week.

House Speaker Ron Mariano signaled in February that supporting long-term care was high on his priority list for the 2023-2024 session, after the COVID-19 pandemic thrust problems at nursing homes and similar facilities into public view.

Elder Affairs Committee co-chairs Sen. Pat Jehlen and Rep. Thomas Stanley filed three long-term care, home care and nursing home bills that will be under consideration at next Monday’s hearing.

The legislation to be considered includes a bill authorizing some health services, such as telehealth, in assisted living communities (H 650 / S 374).

Another omnibus bill would crack down on unlicensed home care agencies; create new regulations for conduct of a home care agency, including to require background screening requirements, minimum coverage requirements for workers’ compensation insurance, and ongoing training and competency requirements for workers; create a home care worker and consumer abuse advisory committee; and establish a home care oversight advisory council within EOHSS. (H 649 / S 380)

The third bill being considered on Monday has similarities with a policy Healey put forward in a supplemental budget she filed earlier this month to create new career ladder incentives for licensed practical nurses. The governor wrote in her filing letter that the $10 million program would “support nursing facilities and home- and community-based services providers in their efforts to retain direct care staff and upskill them to LPNs. The program would fund no-interest loans and grants to support the cost of attending an LPN certification program, as well as living expenses while attending.”

The Jehlen and Stanley bill would establish an extended care career ladder grant program for nurses’ aides, home health aides, homemakers and other entry-level workers in long-term care, create a grant program for nursing facility supervisory and leadership training, and establish a tuition reimbursement program for certified nursing assistant training. (H 648 / S 379)

“Those of us who advocate for older people’s needs have never felt, in the recent past at least, that those issues have been enough of a priority in our state, despite the fact that… the older population is growing really fast, and despite the escalating crisis in all levels of care, from home care to nursing homes,” Jehlen said. “So there’s so much urgent work we need to do to strengthen the whole continuum of care.”