In a State of the Union address that evoked Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln and Vladimir Putin within the first minute, President Joe Biden also made room for home-based care.
After urging for higher taxes on the uber-wealthy, Biden challenged Americans to imagine a future with better access to home care.
“Imagine the future of home care and elder care,” Biden said. “And for people living with disabilities, [if] they can stay in their homes and family caregivers can finally get the pay they deserve.”
Thursday night was not the first time Biden or his administration has publicly supported home-based care on big stages. Other instances include past State of the Union speeches, budget reveals and executive orders.
Generally, the Biden administration has focused more on the Medicaid-based home- and community-based services (HCBS), however, rather than Medicare-certified home health care. On Thursday, emphasis was also placed on family caregivers.
“We are very grateful that once again the President has highlighted the crucial importance of home care in his State of the Union speech,” National Association of Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) President William A. Dombi said in a statement. “Our country has a growing need for home care as an essential support for persons with disabilities and the infirm elderly. The caregivers who attend to our highly vulnerable family and friends also deserve our highest level of respect. We look forward to working with the President to find the best ways to improve home care access and caregiver support.”
In a corresponding fact sheet, the White House also highlighted “making home care more available” as a focus area. Specifically, it highlighted American Rescue Plan dollars going toward caregiver jobs. It also said the Biden administration is “taking steps to improve the quality of Medicaid home care services,” and making sure “home care workers get a bigger share of Medicaid payments for these critical services.”
First proposed by the Centers for Medciare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in April of 2023, the “ensuring access to Medicaid services” rule would force providers to put 80% of reimbursement for HCBS toward caregiver wages.
The final version of that rule is expected sometime in April, though it is unclear whether it will be instituted as proposed.
“Tonight, again, let’s all agree to stand up for seniors,” Biden added.
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