Vice President Kamala Harris recently proposed an expansion of Medicare to cover in-home care services for seniors. The plan aims to help families care for aging relatives at home, reducing the reliance on nursing facilities, which are often far more expensive.
If passed as discussed by the VP this week, Medicare would cover services like home health aides, aiding with daily living activities such as bathing, dressing, and managing medications.
This proposal is targeted at middle-income families who don’t qualify for Medicaid in their state but still often struggle to afford long-term care (e.g. Assisted Living).
Kamala Harris to propose new Medicare home care benefit for seniors
Currently, Medicare only covers in-home care under limited circumstances like short-term skilled nursing after a hospital stay, or part-time help with physical therapy and medical management.
The new proposal would expand eligibility to cover more routine, non-medical care, which is currently either out-of-pocket or falls under Medicaid for low-income individuals.
Note: Medicaid is the biggest payer for long-term care insurance in the country, with nearly 50% of long-term care paid through Medicaid (AHCCCS in our state). But, in order to qualify for long term care under Medicaid people generally have to spend most of their money first.
I couldn’t find a Congressional Budget Office analysis of the costs and offsets for the plan, but the campaign website said they believe the “change would be funded through savings generated by Medicare’s ability to negotiate lower drug prices.”
That’s pretty much all the details I could find for the proposal – but thought y’all might be interested.
