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WASHINGTON UPDATE

December 23, 2020 Volume 26, Number 22
COVID-related and other provisions of interest:
• Provides additional 2020 recovery rebates for individuals. The legislation provides a
refundable tax credit in the amount of $600 per eligible family member. The credit is
$600 per taxpayer ($1,200 for married filing jointly), in addition to $600 per qualifying
child. The credit phases out starting at $75,000 of modified adjusted gross income (AGI)
($112,500 for heads of household and $150,000 for married filing jointly) at a rate of $5
per $100 of additional income. The provision also provides for Treasury to issue
advance payments based on the information on 2019 tax returns. Eligible taxpayers
treated as providing returns through the non-filer portal in the first round of Economic
Impact Payments, provided under the CARES Act, will also receive payments. Treasury
may issue advance payments for Social Security Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability
Insurance beneficiaries, Supplemental Security Income recipients, Railroad Retirement
Board beneficiaries, and VA beneficiaries who did not file 2019 returns based on
information provided by the Social Security Administration, the Railroad Retirement
Board, and VA.
• Extends funding for the Medicaid Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration
program at $450 million per fiscal year through FY 2023. It also makes a number of
improvements to the program.
• Extends the protections against spousal impoverishment for partners of Medicaid
beneficiaries who receive home and community-based services through FY 2023.
• Reduces the medical expense deduction floor. Between 2013 and 2017, individuals
under 65 years old could claim an itemized deduction for unreimbursed medical
expenses to the extent that such expenses exceeded 10 percent of AGI, while for
individuals 65 or older, the threshold was 7.5 percent of AGI. Prior to this period, the 7.5
percent threshold generally applied regardless of age. The legislation makes permanent
the lower threshold of 7.5 percent for all taxpayers, originally restored for 2017 and 2018
and then extended for 2019 and 2020.
• Extends the Work Opportunity Tax Credit through 2025. The credit is an elective,
general business credit to employers hiring individuals who are members of one or more
of ten targeted groups under the program.

VA UNVEILS CORONAVIRUS VACCINE PLAN

VA has begun the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine to its health care providers and veterans who
live in VA community living centers (CLCs). VA’s vaccination plan is being carried out in
accordance with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Once these
groups have received the vaccine, VA will make it available to veterans who are at high risk of
severe illness due to the virus.

In a call with senior leaders in the Veterans Health Administration on December 17, VA stated
that SCI/D veterans as a whole do not have priority access to the vaccine. Those who are
inpatient or who are living in CLCs do have priority access. From there, VA will provide access
to veterans who are older and have co-morbidities. More information about VA’s COVID vaccine
plan is available here.