📋 AARP Backs Legislation to Help Parental Caregivers (AARP Article/Advocacy)

[SpringIsHereVA]

FROM THE ARTICLE:

Bill would ease financial strain of caring for an aging parent.

By Natalie Missakian and Peter Urban, AARP. Published May 06, 2025.

RP is supporting bipartisan legislation on Capitol Hill that could provide some financial relief to the growing number of adults who care for aging parents.

The Lowering Costs for Caregivers Act was introduced May 1 by U.S. Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and Bill Cassidy (R-L.A.). It would allow caregivers to use their tax-free flexible spending or health savings accounts (FSAs and HSAs) to pay for qualified medical expenses of their parent or parent-in-law.

USE LINK BELOW TO READ THE ARTICLE: https://www.aarp.org/politics-society/advocacy/info-2025/lowering-caregiver-costs.html

[GailL1]

Seems fair since this is their money - 

However, it may take some changes in what can be covered to make it worthwhile to some people caring for their parent (s)  I would think paying for a parent’s Medigap plan would be important for a Parental Caregiver 

NOW, even a beneficiary cannot pay their own Medigap premiums out of their own HSA account.  The IRS does NOT consider Medigap policies as health insurance coverage.

See IRS publication 969 under the category of 

Distributions From an HSA

         Qualified medical expenses

            Insurance premiums

You can’t treat insurance premiums as qualified medical expenses unless the premiums are for any of the following:

          4.Medicare and other health care coverage if you were 65 or older (other        than premiums for a Medicare supplemental policy, such as Medigap).

For item (4), if you, the account beneficiary, aren’t 65 or older, Medicare premiums for coverage of your spouse or a dependent (who is 65 or older) aren’t generally qualified medical expenses.