What Does Biden’s Caregiver Infrastructure Plan Do For Families?

President Biden’s Caregiver Infrastructure plan will help families -the very infrastructure that supports elders as they age. What do I mean? Currently, 53 million family members provide most of the care that vulnerable seniors and people with disabilities require — without being paid as Medicare does not pay for long-term caregiving.

Family Members Provide Care for No Pay 

There is often a significant financial and emotional cost to these family caregivers. According to AARP, family caregivers on average devote about 24 hours a week to helping loved ones and spend around $7,000 out-of-pocket on that care.

The value of this unpaid labor force is estimated to be at least $306 billion annually, nearly double the combined costs of home health care ($43 billion) and nursing home care ($115 billion)

Medicare Does Not Pay for Custodial Caregiving

Families are shocked when they discover that Medicare does not pay for custodial caregiving or long-term care. This is the type of care that most elders will eventually need as they age. They will pay for short-term care post-hospitalization. So most elders must depend on their families for this care or if they are in the upper 10-15% pay for private duty home care which can run up to $4000-$6000 a month if they need 24-hour care, creating severe inequality in out care infrastructure.

 

Some Family Caregivers Can Be Paid Through Medicaid and the VA

Although family caregivers and actually in-home care is not paid by Medicare, some family caregivers are  paid  through the VA  and  family caregivers supporting a relative on Medicaid 

In the US 1-5  Americans receive Medicaid. which is only available for low-income individuals.VA Homecare is only available to veterans with specific criteria 

 Biden’s Caregiver Program May Help Medicaid Family Caregivers

 

The median salary for these home-care workers, who care for low-income Medicaid recipients, is approximately $17,200 per year, said Leslie Frane, executive vice president at SEIU. This is in large part because the United States pays only limited amounts to states to compensate them for Medicaid care in the home. More than half of home-care workers are on some form of public assistance themselves such as food stamps, Frane said. They are overwhelmingly female and far more likely to be people of color than the general population.

 

Being a Caregiver on Medicaid Comes at a High Personal Cost

Being a caregiver for a family member presents incredible hurdles for all family caregivers but under Medicaid comes at a  high cost. .Caregivers often have to significantly reduce their number of hours working outside the home or leave their jobs entirely in order to provide quality care for their loved one. This means that caregivers are spending hours assisting loved ones with daily tasks, cooking meals, taking them to appointments, ensuring their safety and well-being, and providing companionship, but are not being compensated for their time.

Biden’s Health Care Plan May be Unveiled This Week

As I mentioned in my last blog, there are still few details about how Biden’s Caregiver Infrastructure Bill of $400 million will be allocated. However, there is reason to believe that a large part will go to these family caregivers who support their elderly relatives on Medicaid.

We may get a hint of what and when that will be this week when Biden will discuss changes in Heath care he will include in the will try to include in his American Family Plan.

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