NATIONWIDE — VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA Harris in a Tuesday interview on “The View” proposed expanding Medicare to cover in-home care services for older Americans, reports CNN. Under Harris’ plan, lower- and middle-income recipients would be fully covered for part-time aide support, while higher-income people would share the cost. The proposal is a response to the steep price tag of senior care as the baby boom generation ages, a growing concern for many middle-aged Americans in the “sandwich generation,” doubly stressed by the costs of supporting both their parents and children.
Although studies from the Brookings Institution cited by the Harris campaign show that covering in-home care would be very expensive, at an estimated $40 billion a year, Harris plans to defray these costs with tougher Medicare prescription drug price negotiations, as well as through tax reforms and other measures. The nation could also see a benefit by reducing the need for seniors to enter pricy long-term care facilities, as well as lessening the burden on middle-aged and younger generations, spurring economic activity and reducing job loss due to parent care needs.
Harris also proposed a Medicare expansion that would cover hearing and vision care, as well as a halt to Medicaid-expense home seizures.
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