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| Photo by Keiko Zoll, from Advocacy Day. |
Exciting news folks: Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) has officially introduced the Family Act into the Senate (S. 965). The Family Act is a bill that creates a tax credit to reimburse individuals for out of pocket expenses for infertility treatment. While the text of the bill has not yet been released (it should be in the next day or two), it is anticipated that the tax credit will provide a lifetime cap of just over $13,000, renewable up to 5 years, and on a 50/50 cost share between taxpayer and government. The Family Act has been modeled after the very successul federal Adoption Tax Credit.
Here’s where your help is vital: we need Senate co-sponsors like whoa. RESOLVE has set up a very easy form for you to contact your Senators right at their website. Send an email to your Senators encouraging them to co-sponsor the Family Act here.
Additionally, if we really want to gain traction on Capitol Hill, we also need a House version of this the Family Act. Please consider contacting your Representatives encouraging them to originate the bill on the House side of Congress. Look up your representatives’ contact information here. I’ve drafted a sample letter to your representatives here, so you can copy, paste, and fill in your appropriate information and send it off to your legislators with ease.
I’ve already reached out to my Congressman, Representative John Tierney. I sent him a follow up email from Advocacy Day today and then posted a comment asking for his support on his Facebook page – he actually responded to my comment, having read my email! Feel free to get creative and check to see if your Senators and Congressfolk are using social media. I would email them first, then follow up on their Facebook pages and Twitter accounts – it can’t hurt!
For more information:
- Here’s a general overview of the Family Act.
- Here’s a detailed FAQ about the Family Act.
- The Family Act has been endorsed by the American Society of Reproductive Medicine.
- Make sure to Like EMD Serono’s Family Act page on Facebook.
- And don’t forget to write your Senators!
There is a difference between a credit and deduction. Deduction is taken off of the money u made. For example only once my medical bills reach over 8% of my annual income can I deducted it from my income so I don't have to pay taxes on that part. Credit is money that u will get back on ur taxes, like this year I think we all got a credit for working of 400. So this bill will help out greatly! My family and friends have already send letters in to senators!
Awesome! I will definitely be passing this info on, and doing my best to help out. Thanks for sharing!
Okay, I read the FAQ, this is good. It covers the gap until you qualify for the full medical deduction.
M
I am confused. Infertility was covered as a medical expense and when it exceeded a certain % of income, it was deductible. This looks like it's limiting the deduction.
For instance, I had $30k in medical bills the year we did IVF and all of it was deductible.
Unless I am misunderstanding, this seems like a step back.
M
Thank you for this post.
Thanks for the info. I will definately be emailing my senators.