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What is Harris’ “Medicare at Home” plan and how would it work?
Vice President Kamala Harris is proposing an expansion of Medicare to cover the costs of an in-home aide for many seniors, a direct pitch to the “sandwich generation” of adults caring for aging parents in addition to their own children.
The plan, dubbed “Medicare at Home,” focuses on having Medicare cover costs of home care services and nurses as a way for families to help avoid costs of nursing homes. Harris is pairing it with a plan she’s already announced that would expand the child care tax credit to up to $3,600, and $6,000 for parents with newborns.
Harris unveiled the plan in a Tuesday interview on “The View” talk show, where she talked about her own experience taking care of her mother while she had cancer.
She emphasized that her plan would be an expansion of Medicare, rather than Medicaid. This would enable it to coexist with private insurance. Medicaid also has certain stricter eligibility rules.