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Under New Tax Plan, the Cost of Aging Could Rise - The New York Times

posted onDecember 9, 2017
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Article snippet: In the coming days, a small group of Republicans will meet in Washington to try to settle a simple question: Should their revised tax bill eliminate a deduction for medical expenses and take away thousands of dollars each year from many people who are sick and, often, old? The two competing tax bills that will form the basis of an attempt at compromise over the coming weeks, one from the House of Representatives and one from the Senate, answer the question differently. The Senate bill would keep a deduction for medical expenses intact. The House bill would kill it off entirely. The more money that people had to spend this year, the more they would lose next year if the House prevails and the deduction disappears. Let’s meet those people. Meet Medha Godbole, 58, whose 60-year-old husband, Sanjay, is paraplegic, nonverbal and incontinent. The Solon, Ohio, couple have about $130,000 in expenses for Mr. Godbole’s round-the-clock, in-home care. Loss of the tax break would cost them close to $30,000 annually. Meet Conrad Wagner, 88, who spent his working years at the Veterans Administrationand then teaching at Vanderbilt University. He expects to spend about $200,000 this year on care and expensive equipment for his 87-year-old wife, Jane, who has a stomach condition that requires 24/7 help in their Nashville home. Meet Kae Yates, who had to spend over $75,000 this year. Her husband, Reggie, is 77 and lives in an assisted living home in the wake of a stroke. She’s 72 a... Link to the full article to read more

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