Medical Expenses

Members of the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants are answering readers' tax questions through April 15. Is the money that we spend for an assisted-living nursing home deductible? There is no hard and fast rule as to the deductibility of nursing home costs. The deduction will depend on the nature of the services provided, rather than the institution that provides the service. If the reason that the person is in a nursing home is that his or her medical condition requires the availability of medical care, and meals and lodging are furnished as part of that care, the entire amount is deductible.

The Baltimore police officer who was thrown over the side of Interstate 83 and fell 20 feet after a car crashed into her vehicle as she helped a stranded motorist has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the driver and the owner of the vehicle. The driver, 23-year-old Robert R. Vanderford, is scheduled to appear in District Court this week for a trial on traffic charges related to the June 21, 2011, incident. The charges include failure to control vehicle speed to avoid a collision, failure to reduce speed in dangerous weather and driving while his license was suspended in another state.

Members of the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants are answering readers' tax questions through April 15.Q: I put my aunt into a nursing home. Can I deduct that as a medical expense and what proof do I need?A: You can deduct medical expenses for yourself, your spouse and your dependents. If you can claim your aunt as a dependent, you can deduct her medical expenses paid by you. The !c documentation required would be receipts and cancled checks and proof you meet all five dependency tests (1. Relationship, 2. Gross Income Test, 3. Support Test, 4. Citizenship or Residence Test and 5. Joint Return Test.

There is something to be said for fast food: It is quick, convenient and - especially - cheap. We all know that it's bad for us, but when a bacon double-cheeseburger costs less than a head of lettuce, it might be hard to refuse. Fruits and vegetables are one of the keys to good health. Barbara Rolls invented the sensible Volumetrics diet, which encourages people to eat large quantities of low-energy-dense foods rather than small portions of energy-dense foods. This plan makes sense: You feel full, lose weight and end up eating a lot more fresh produce.

There's a knock-down, drag-out fight going on in the hallways of Annapolis over a health-care proposal that epitomizes the kinds of agonizing decisions individuals in our society have to make. Proponents of the bill say it gives patients the absolute right to choose a health-care provider. Opponents say the bill will demolish cost-containment efforts and add hundreds of millions of dollars to the cost of obtaining health care.In an ideal setting, the proponents' argument would triumph. Americans have been spoiled by a health-care system that has enabled them to pick and choose their physicians at will without much thought about paying for it. After all, insurance paid nearly all the bill.

In calculating medical expenses as deductions on the income tax, can one include the Medicare deductions from Social Security? Yes, says Barbara C. Shuckra, spokeswoman for the Internal Revenue Service. I assume you're talking about the money you pay each month so that you're covered under the part of Medicare that generally covers you for doctors' bills and other such expenses. You pay a monthly fee, known as the Medicare Part B premium. For 2000, the fee is $45.50 a month for most Medicare beneficiaries, says Kurt Czarnowski, spokesman for the Social Security Administration.

Mid Atlantic Medical Services Inc., the Rockville managed-care insurer, announced its second straight losing quarter yesterday -- a net loss of $4.7 million, or 10 cents a share, compared with net income of $14.4 million, or 30 cents a share, during the third quarter of 1995.The results were below the expectations of already-pessimistic analysts. Ten surveyed by I/B/E/S International had predicted, on average, a loss of 7 cents a share.The red ink came despite an increase in membership and revenue over the year-ago quarter.

"DON'T PAY the 401(k) 10 percent penalty!" says Black Enterprise. "Generally, if you pull money from a retirement plan before age 59 1/2 you get hit with a 10 percent penalty -- and you'll also pay taxes. But here are exceptions to plans like IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, etc.: "(1) Substantially equal periodic payments: Withdraw money on a regular basis. (2) Disability: If you're severely injured and can't work. (3) Medical expenses: You can withdraw money for medical expenses over 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income.

There is something to be said for fast food: It is quick, convenient and - especially - cheap. We all know that it's bad for us, but when a bacon double-cheeseburger costs less than a head of lettuce, it might be hard to refuse. Fruits and vegetables are one of the keys to good health. Barbara Rolls invented the sensible Volumetrics diet, which encourages people to eat large quantities of low-energy-dense foods rather than small portions of energy-dense foods. This plan makes sense: You feel full, lose weight and end up eating a lot more fresh produce.

CAMBY, IND. -- Until the fourth trip to the hospital in 1998, Zachery Dorsett's parents thought their son was a normal child who was having trouble getting over a passing illness. He was 7 months old, and it was his second case of pneumonia. Sharon and Arnold Dorsett were concerned about Zachery's health, but they were not worried about the financial consequences. They were a young, middle-income couple, with health insurance that covered 90 percent of doctors' bills and most prescription drug costs.

Three Howard County Republican legislators announced yesterday that they would introduce a bill to provide auxiliary police officers with workers' compensation insurance in the event of an on-the-job injury. The proposal, which will be presented to the Howard delegation of the General Assembly next year, is a response to a legal dispute over workers' compensation benefits for an auxiliary officer who lost his leg while volunteering at an accident scene last year. On the night before Thanksgiving, West Friendship volunteer firefighter and auxiliary officer Pieter Lucas arrived at an accident at U.S. 40 and Pebble Beach Drive.

A 43-year-old man pleaded guilty yesterday to trying to kill A. Robert Kaufman, a Baltimore landlord and long-shot candidate for the U.S. Senate who was clubbed with a crowbar and stabbed in a rent dispute with one of his tenants. After a Circuit Court judge sentenced Henry Leon Davis to 12 years in prison, Kaufman turned to the defendant and asked him for a kidney donation. The socialist and perennial candidate for public office has said that his kidneys failed because of blood poisoning from the knife used in the attack.

Baltimoresun.com's tax-advice column features three experts from the Hunt Valley accounting firm SC&H Group answering questions about preparing your return every Monday until April 17. To be included in the following weeks, please use the form at the right side of this page to submit your questions. Nancy M. Bandiere, Baltimore: Filing head of household for a mother in [an] assisted-living facility for her safety and welfare, what may I deduct other than [medical] expenses, [medical] premiums, [prescriptions]

Throughout tax season, Baltimoresun.com is publishing a weekly question-and-answer column with Jim Wilhelm, Stuart Rudo and Greg Horning from the Hunt Valley accounting firm SC&H Group on common questions that may come up as you prepare your returns. Here is an edited transcript of this week's column: My mother has medical expenses that total over $25,000 for this year. Most of this is for what we pay people to come in and help her with basic needs such as bed, bath, feeding, etc. We pay people out of our pocket and do not withhold any taxes.

Baltimoresun.com's tax-advice column features three experts from the Hunt Valley accounting firm SC&H Group answering questions about preparing your return every Monday until April 17. To be included in the following weeks, please use the form at the right side of this page to submit your questions. Janet Gainey, Baltimore: My husband is collecting retirement from SSA and support for our two minor children from SSA ($386 each). IRS informed us that a portion of my husband's retirement is taxable after filling out the form in the book and that none of the support for our children is taxable.

More companies are trying to rein in health care costs these days by asking workers to take better care of themselves and offering them financial incentives to do so. The theory is that if workers adopt healthier habits, their chances of developing serious - and expensive - medical conditions will be reduced. "Every company looks at cost [but] cost is not the root cause," said Andrew Scibelli, manager of the health management program for FPL Group Inc., parent of Florida Power & Light.

The consumer price index in the Baltimore metropolitan area declined in October and November, and rose only 1.7 percent during the past 12 months, according to figures released yesterday.The 0.5 percent decline in the last two months was driven by a drop in the price of electricity, which economists and officials of Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. said was a normal seasonal adjustment. Lower food prices were another big contributor to the decline.The yearlong inflation picture was aided by a much smaller rate of increase in medical expenses, the figures showed.

Three years may not seem a long time to a restless young man trying to settle into adulthood. But to an infant, three years xTC is an eternity. Therein lies the problem with assigning more legal weight to the rights of biological parents in adoption cases than to the best interests of a child.A recent decision from the Maryland Court of Appeals weighed the question of nature versus nurture and issued a ruling that sends an important message: Being a parent involves more than a biological tie, more than seeing your own likeness when you look at a child.

CAMBY, IND. -- Until the fourth trip to the hospital in 1998, Zachery Dorsett's parents thought their son was a normal child who was having trouble getting over a passing illness. He was 7 months old, and it was his second case of pneumonia. Sharon and Arnold Dorsett were concerned about Zachery's health, but they were not worried about the financial consequences. They were a young, middle-income couple, with health insurance that covered 90 percent of doctors' bills and most prescription drug costs.

OFTEN TOWARD the end of the year, workers make a mad rush to the dentist, the eye doctor or even the pharmacy to buy cold medicine as stocking stuffers - all in an effort to spend money remaining in their flexible spending accounts. That's because the rule has been that whatever worker contributions are left in these health care accounts at the end of 12 months are forfeited. But now, perhaps, there's a reprieve. In May, the Treasury Department said employers can extend the time workers have to spend money in the accounts by two and a half months.