LINCOLN- Joyce Beck, a hospital CEO, was forced to retire early to provide the almost constant care her husband needed. That made it even harder to afford the estimated $10,000 a year in out-of-pocket costs for medications and his health care. Beck and others told a state legislative committee that a proposed state tax credit would help her and other family caregivers afford care for their loved ones, keeping them out of nursing homes and off taxpayer support.

State Sen. Eliot Bostar of Lincoln said it only makes sense to help family caregivers because of “a surge in older adults” and a decrease in those available to care for them. “We must develop methods to enable caregivers to continue to support their loved ones at home … in the most comfortable environment,” Bostar told the Legislature’s Revenue Committee.

His LB937, patterned after an Oklahoma “Caring for Caregivers Act” passed last year, would allow caregivers who care for an aged, sick or disabled loved one at home to claim a state income tax credit of $2,000 a year. The credit would rise to $3,000 a year if the person being cared for was a military veteran or suffered from dementia.

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