12/3/2014
Plan allows states to manage special savings accounts for disabled Americans, used for education, housing, transportation and other costs
Arrangement would make people with the accounts eligible for benefit programs, costing the treasury hundreds of millions
Republicans have a multi-pronged plan to 'offset' those losses, including a plan to do away with Medicare spending on 'vacuum erection systems'
Medicare covers the expensive appliances, but not Viagra or other erectile dysfunction pills
New proposal would treat the two medical solutions equally, cutting penis-pump funding until Medicare covers the pills, too – saving $444 million over ten years
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Congressional Republicans don't have anything against penis pumps.
They just don't want Medicare paying for them unless cheaper prescription drugs are also on the list of taxpayer-funded therapies for men with problems they usually attribute to 'a friend.'
As part of a plan to pay for a new initiative aimed at helping disabled Americans save tax-free for education, housing and transportation costs, a House bill unveiled Tuesday eliminates $444 million in Medicare funding for the 'vacuum erection systems.'
IT'S FOR A FRIEND: Medical-equipment versions of 'penis pumps,' devices prescribed for men who can't get erections, are covered under Medicare to the tune of $44 MILLION per year
Florida Rep. Ander Crenshaw, the bill's sponsor, said it will help 'millions of Americans'
Washington Republican Congresswoman Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (right) said she supports the ABLE Act's tax advantages for disabled Americans because of her son Cole (center), who was born with Down Syndrome
The larger legislation, called the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act, will allow states to set up and manage specialized savings accounts for Americans with disabilities, opening the door for them to receive tax breaks and access to Medicare entitlements currently out of their reach.
Republicans in the House propose to pay for it with a series of budget 'offsets' including the congressional erection maneuver – which the Congressional Budget Office estimates will save the government nearly a half-million dollars over ten years beginning in 2015.
A House Ways and Means Committee report issued Tuesday explains that the pumps would be de-funded 'until such time that Medicare covers erectile dysfunction drugs under Medicare Part D.'
'When the Part D program was created in 2003, it established a statutory prohibition on erectile dysfunction drugs,' committee staff added.
Of the nine offsets added to the bill this week, the $44 million-per-year savings figure is the largest. Other measures increase fuel taxes for cargo ships operating on U.S. inland waterways and an IRS proposal that will index tax-nonpayment penalties for inflation – driving up the fines over time.
The larger point of the ABLE Act, however, is to give disabled people access to tax write-offs that others take for granted – including the ability to earn tax-free interest in the way parents with 'Section 529' plans can while saving for their childrens' college tuition.
House Speaker John Boehner said Tuesday that 'under the status quo, which dates back to 1974, people with disabilities can only save $2,000 in assets' before taxes kick in.'
'This makes it nearly impossible for them to plan for the future just as any family would.'
SAVINGS: Disabled Americans will be able to earn tax-free interest on savings for education, transportation, housing and other expenses under the ABLE Act
THE LITTLE PILL THAT COULD: Congressmen and women want Medicare to fund cheaper drugs like Viagra (pictured) and Levitra instead of assuming expensive appliances are the only option
SERIOUS SUBJECT: House Speaker John Boehner said Tuesday that tax rules for disabled Americans' savings date back to 1974 and tax-free interest is capped at $2,000 of savings
Florida Republican Rep. Ander Crenshaw added that 'with ABLE in place, individuals with disabilities would no longer have to stand by and watch others use Internal Revenue Service-sanctioned tools to lay the groundwork for a brighter future,'
Crenshaw, who first proposed the law, predicted it will help 'millions of Americans.'
Congress seems united on the measure, with more co-sponsors of both parties in bouth chambers of Congress than any other pending legislation. A whopping 380 House members support it, along with 74 senators.
One of those ABLE Act cheerleaders is Washington Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, whose seven-year-old son Cole was born with Down syndrome.
‘Cole has helped me understand how too many times federal policies limit – not expand – opportunities for those with disabilities,' Rodgers said Tuesday.
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