GOP Tax Plan Would Eliminate Key Deduction for Many in Nursing Homes

The Republican tax bill will eliminate a crucial medical deduction for many elderly Americans in nursing homes, CNBC has reported.

The bill would take away the medical expense deduction, which allows those who spend more than 10 percent of their income on out-of-pocket health costs to write them off.

While only about 5 percent of those filing a tax return claim it, the deduction can be quite significant for the elderly and sick.

AARP came out strongly against the provision, with Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond issuing a statement emphasizing that "eliminating the medical expense deduction amounts to a health tax on millions of Americans with high medical costs – especially middle-income seniors."

Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News explained the problem in more depth, saying that the medical expense deduction is used by only about 8.8 million people because it is available only to those who itemize their deductions, "but those 8.8 million tax filers claimed an estimated $87 billion in deductions; meaning that those who do qualify for the deduction have very high out-of-pocket health costs."

According to The Washington Post, the IRS lists medical expenses that taxpayers pay themselves include: the costs of diagnosing, treating, easing or preventing disease; prescription drugs and insulin; insurance premiums for policies that cover medical care; and some long-term care insurance costs.

Democrats have lashed out at this issue as an example of how the GOP tax plan sacrifices those who are more in need in order to reduce taxes for the wealthy.

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