Welcome to a Government Affairs E-News Alert from the
Sjögren’s Syndrome Foundation!
December 2003
Fourth Edition of 2003
BREAKING NEWS!
Legislation Introduced to Make Over-the-Counter Medical Expenses Tax Deductible
Your stories about the burden of OTC costs in treating your Sjögren’s syndrome made a difference! The Sjögren’s Syndrome Foundation succeeded in getting legislation introduced to allow medical tax deductions for OTC drugs and products. OTC expenses have long been a major issue for those with Sjögren’s, because most treatments are available only Over-the-Counter. As many of you have told us, those expenses create a tremendous burden on you and your family.
The SSF emphasized the importance of the OTC issue to Sjögren’s syndrome patients, and, working together with the Consumer Health Products Association, developed a draft bill and obtained sponsorship. Representatives Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Louise Slaughter (D-NY) introduced the OTC Medicine Tax Fairness Act, H.R. 3596, on the evening of November 21st.
According to the legislation, as long as your doctor agrees that you need a drug or product for a medical condition, that cost is deductible. You do not have to prove a diagnosis. The tax deduction is available to all citizens who itemize their taxes and whose total medical expenses, including OTC bills, exceed 7.5% of adjusted gross income.
This bill adds another means to ease the burden of OTC costs following this fall’s IRS Ruling that allows OTC costs to be included in flexible spending accounts (FSAs). In that ruling, those eligible for FSAs can make OTC purchases with pre-tax dollars.
CALL FOR ACTION!
Help SSF with publicity:
Please take an SSF Press Release to your local newspapers and other media. Feel free to provide your own name or support group as a local resource. Remember that "All politics is local!" Be sure to let us know who you contact and the results.
Help generate congressional support:
Please contact your legislators and request support for this bill. A sample letter can be found on the SSF website at www.sjogrens.org. Just click on the first headline for details.
If one of the sponsors is your Representative,
please send your thanks to them by either e-mailing or calling their national office or writing or calling their local office. Visit their websites for contact information (www.demint.house.gov and www.slaugher.house.gov). Urge them to link to the SSF website, which highlights the bill.
SSF SAYS "THANK YOU!"
. . .To the Philadelphia SSF Chapter:
The Sjögren’s Syndrome Foundation thanks the Philadelphia chapter for sending letters to U.S. Representatives requesting support for the NIH Autoimmune Diseases Research Plan. A Resolution on the research plan is in the works in the House, and we need all the support we can get. Nancy Hower (Pennsylvania) and Polly Youngstein (New Jersey) took the lead on this the project for the Philadelphia area. Thank you!
If your support group wants to send a letter to your congressional members on an issue affecting Sjögren’s syndrome patients, contact Kathy Hammitt, Director of Research Development and Public Policy at khammitt@sjogrens.org or Kathy Ivory, Field Services Director at kivory@sjogrens.org. You can also call SSF at 301-718-0300. We’d love to work with you!
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*** PERSONAL STORIES MAKE THE DIFFERENCE BY PUTTING A HUMAN FACE ON AN ISSUE***
Your willingness to tell your story and share it with the SSF, legislators and the public truly makes the difference.
