The Trump Administration has cut by more than 40 percent the staff that oversees critical federal programs for older adults and younger people with disabilities who live at home. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired the staffers who manage and review federal grants to state and local governments and community-based organizations for programs such as Meals [...]
In a seemingly off-the cuff television remark, President Trump said he’d protect Medicaid from government spending cuts. Don’t count on it, especially since at nearly the same time, and after dithering for months, Trump endorsed a draft House Republican budget framework that anticipates cuts of as much as nearly $900 billion in Medicaid over the next decade. Supporters of deep [...]
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris says she wants to create a home-based long-term care benefit under Medicare. She’s suggesting an historic change in the health care system for older adults and some younger people with disabilities. But her idea raises important political and policy questions. Harris describes the broad outlines of her plan in a hard-to-find fact sheet here. Oddly, [...]
Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is working hard to win the support of older voters, but what would she do to address their many concerns if she is elected president? In a campaign that has not yet shown many of its policy cards, Harris has offered only the roughest sketch of a governing agenda. But her time as vice president [...]
With great fanfare, the Biden Administration recently announced new regulations aimed at increasing staffing at nursing homes and boosting pay for some home care workers. The laudable intention: To improve care for frail older adults and younger people with disabilities. But don’t expect changes anytime soon. It will be years before either of these rules are fully implemented. The new [...]
President Biden’s 2025 budget proposal, which will double as his presidential campaign platform, includes major proposals aimed at supporting older adults. It would raise taxes to help fund Medicare, increase federal support for Medicaid home-based care,, create a federal family leave program for those caring for older adults as well as children, and toughen regulation and inspections of nursing homes. [...]
Caring for a chronically ill parent, spouse, or other relative is hard. And, without support, it can seriously interfere with paid jobs, disrupting not only employees’ lives but their workplaces as well. There are lots of good reasons for firms to assist workers who are caring for loved ones. Unfortunately, many don’t make the effort, perhaps because they are worried [...]
Congress is debating whether to impose new restrictions on immigration as the price of a deal to provide new aid to Ukraine and Israel. But some of the biggest victims of this misguided policy will be frail older adults, younger people living with disabilities, and their families. For their sakes, Congress should make immigration easier, not harder, for the nurses [...]
Welcome to November, National Family Caregivers Month, one of those Hallmark Card-like designations that politicians grant when they can’t, or won’t, actually act to help people. But instead of getting frustrated over what Congress isn’t doing, it seems like a good opportunity to think about what support those family members need. Many groups have surveyed family caregivers over the years [...]
Minnesota and Washington are the states that provide the best services and supports for frail older adults, younger people with disabilities, and their families, according to a new study by AARP. The worst performers: Alabama and West Virginia. AARP defines superior supports and services as those that are affordable and accessible, give families a choice of high-quality and safe care [...]