WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Vice President Kamala Harris announced plans to provide long-term care benefits through Medicare to seniors in their own homes. Currently, seniors can only use Medicare for limited post acute care and must rely on Medicaid for longer-term care. The availability of home-based care through Medicaid varies by state.
Public Citizen co-president Lisa Gilbert released the following statement:
“Improving and expanding Medicare is job one in order to fix our broken health care system. Home health expansion through Medicare is a smart and desperately needed place to start. It would provide relief for families across America struggling to take care of their loved ones.
“This important expansion would finally allow Medicare to cover crucial services where many beneficiaries would prefer to receive them—in the safety and comfort of their homes. Such an expansion would lay the groundwork for even further improvements and expansions to Medicare including hearing, dental and vision services. A low out-of-pocket cap on medical expenses would ensure seniors can afford to get the care they need, and by reigning in Medicare Advantage overpayments, we could fund many of these priorities.
“We must continue to expand the availability of Medicare by lowering the qualifying age, so we can finally build a health care system that ensures that every American can get the care they need when they need it without going bankrupt.”
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