Seniors saved from new taxes under Nelson amendment

September 30, 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Millions of senior citizens won’t be subjected to new taxes under a major amendment by U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson to a Senate health-care bill.

Under the Senate Finance Committee’s bill, the threshold for deducting personal medical expenses is raised from 7.5 percent to 10 percent of annual income for all taxpayers.  But Nelson’s amendment keeps the deduction threshold for seniors’ out-of-pocket medical costs at the 7.5 percent figure.

Nelson’s amendment will result in keeping $6.4 billion over 10 years in the pockets of more than 5.5 million seniors, according to the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation.

The amendment cleared the Finance Committee today by a 14-9 vote, with Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine joining the panel’s 13 Democrats in voting for passage.

“There was a period when seniors were fully exempt from the income floor,” Nelson, a Florida Democrat, argued.  “We should not be raising taxes on seniors to pay for health reform, particularly seniors suffering extreme medical hardships.”

Nelson has emerged as a key voice in the debate over health care reform, and for seniors in particular.

Last week he narrowly lost an effort to require the big drugmakers to put up money to cover the cost of prescriptions in the so-called Medicare donut hole.  He’s also pushing an amendment that would prevent cuts in benefits to some 10 million seniors who bought Medicare Advantage policies.

###