Medical deduction repeal gets pushback

WASHINGTON — The medical expense deduction targeted for repeal by GOP tax writers has helped to offset costs including nursing home care and fertility treatments, laser eye surgery and travel outof-state for a second opinion on a rare cancer.

Several million people unlucky enough to face big medical bills not covered by their insurance would lose a valuable deduction under the House GOP bill. Groups representing older people and patients are trying to save it.

“Anybody who is paying for the cost of nursing home care is paying a great deal of money, and they are going to lose that deduction, and their taxes are going to go up,” said Thomas DeCoursey, a retired lawyer from Kansas, in his 70s.

He relies on the deduction to help offset costs associated with nursing home care for his wife, who has Alzheimer’s. Some of his own medical expenses also factor in. DeCoursey estimates that in a couple of years their annual costs will pass $100,000.

“There are a lot of people in my shoes,” said DeCoursey, who lives in Leawood, a well-to-do Kansas City suburb that voted for President Donald Trump last year.

About 9 million households — 6 percent of tax filers — claim the medical expense deduction, said Gordon Mermin, a senior researcher at the nonpartisan Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.

The annual cost to the U.S. Treasury is about $10 billion, which ranks it as a modest tax break. Those who benefit tend to be middle-income and upper-middle-income people.

“For the people who claim it, it is not a trivial benefit,” said Mermin.

The medical expense deduction is also versatile. In addition to nursing home care, not generally covered by medical insurance plans, it can be used for:

■ Transportation expenses to a top hospital, like a comprehensive cancer center.

■ Some long-term care insurance premiums.

■ Installing specialized medical equipment in a patient’s home or vehicle.

■ Dental procedures.

■ Bills from out-of-network doctors.