Tax Benefits for Caregivers

With politicians making daily headlines thumping their chests over benefits and tax cuts I found it timely that ‘ASK MEDICARE: information to help you care for others’ would offer the following factual information in their September/October e-newsletter.

"If you provide care and financial support, you may be eligible for certain tax breaks or other financial help. You may want to look into:

* Multiple Support Declaration

* Deductions for qualifying relatives

* Deductions for medical expenses

* Dependent Care Credit for paid caregivers

* Payments (in some states) for caregiving work

* Public benefits available in your state  

Qualtity Care Finder (information on hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies, and other facilities across the country)

Help in Your Community from Aging & Disability Resources Centers (ADRC) connect to the ADRC in your area with the Administration on Aging's Eldercare Locator."

With medical insurance gone wild and not every one honest when it comes to our more vulnerable population, advice is helpful.

"Medicare plans can start marketing for Open Enrollment on October 1. Protect yourself by knowing the rules about what Medicare plan sales agents can do. Sales agents CAN'T:

* Come to your home uninvited

* Approach you in parking lots, hallways or lobbies

* Offer you a gift worth more than $15 to join their plan 

* Provide meals at sales presentations

* Try to sell you a plan at educational events

If you know of an agent that's not following these marketing rules, send an email with the details of what happened to our Surveillance Mailbox at surveillance@cms.hhs.gov. "

Caregivingly Yours, Patrick Leer 

videos: www.youtube.com/daddyleer

web site: caregivinglyyours.com