The Conversation

Vice President Kamala Harris has outlined a proposal to allow Medicare to expand its coverage of home health care for older Americans. The Democratic presidential nominee announced this plan on the television talk show “The View.”

Harris explained that she aimed to take the burden off members of the “sandwich generation,” who are taking care of their kids and aging parents at the same time. She said the cost of this additional paid care could be paid for with the money the government will save by negotiating with pharmaceutical companies to reduce what Medicare pays for prescription drugs. Harris is also calling for Medicare to cover more hearing and vision care.

The Conversation U.S. asked Jane Tavares and Marc Cohen, scholars of long-term care, to assess what’s known so far about the plan.