On October 8, Vice President Kamala Harris proposed a new Medicare at Home benefit to help families with caregiving needs. If elected in the upcoming presidential elections, Harris seeks to expand Medicare. “Nearly a quarter of American adults are part of the sandwich generation providing intergenerational care to both their children and a parent or a loved one with disabilities,” the Harris-Walz team stated in a fact sheet.
Under the proposed plan, Medicare will cover home care for seniors and those with disabilities on Medicare. Additionally, vision and hearing benefits will be provided so that seniors can live independently for longer.
According to the fact sheet, the “new benefits will be fully paid for and extend the life of the Medicare Trust Fund by expanding Medicare drug price negotiations, increasing the discounts drug manufacturers cover for certain brand-name drugs in Medicare, and addressing Medicare fraud.”
On Tuesday, Harris appeared on ABC’s “The View” and shared how she took care of her mother when she was dying. She discussed the challenges of seeking affordable in-home care for family members.
“Harris’ proposal is one that will certainly lift the tremendous burden felt by the more than 7 million Americans who are home-limited or homebound due to chronic or serious illness, injury, or medical complexity,” said Julie Sacks, President and Chief Operating Officer of Home Centered Care Institute (HCCI), a nonprofit focused on advancing home-based primary care, in a statement. “Increased access to in-home care is also a great support to caregivers and allows our older adults to remain at home, with their families, where they prefer to be.”
