There are only four weeks left until Election Day. In the final stretch, Vice President Kamala Harris is finally making space for the discussion of health care in her campaign.
During her media blitz this week, Harris proposed on ABC’s “The View” that Medicare benefits would include at-home care for the elderly in an effort to avoid high nursing home costs and for those with disabilities.
The “sandwich generation” are those with both children and aging parents to care for. Could this also be an effort to bring independents and undecided Republicans into the fold? The majority of those caring for elderly parents would fall under Generation X and baby boomers, aged 44 to 69, respectively. Gen X is a crucial demographic and likelier to poll as independent or Republican than Democrat. Boomers lean more toward the right.
Harris got to the heart of the matter when it comes to being a caretaker of sick parents—or any loved one who is having health struggles, for that matter.
“It is a personal experience for me as well as something I care deeply about,” said Harris, referring to when she cared for her mother while she battled cancer. “Taking care of a parent means trying to cook what they want to eat, what they can eat. It means picking out clothes for them that’s soft enough that it doesn’t irritate their skin. It means trying to think of something funny to make them laugh or smile. And there’s so much about that that’s really about giving folks dignity.”
This comes as premiums, monthly payments, and deductibles, the costs that needs to be met before coverage takes hold, have soared for individuals and companies.
The latest released data shows that 1 in 4 Americans, over 70 million people, have a disability and need additional health care. Those employed with a disability have also increased since the COVID-19 pandemic.
With a shortened campaign taking place since President Joe Biden dropped out in July, Harris has had to tailor her focus on the economy and immigration. Still, health care remains an important issue, with 8 in 10 saying it is “extremely” or “very” important.
At-home health care would create more flexibility for those who need to be cared for at home. It would also allow caregivers to keep their jobs, and thus their source of income, while avoiding steep nursing home price tags—the median cost of a private room is $9,733 per month. In-home care costs don’t come cheap either, at a median of $6,292 per month, according to data from long-term care insurance company Genworth.
If elected, Harris hopes to change and mitigate these costs and keep Americans employable while caring for sick parents or disabled loved ones.
Gig work has more than tripled since 2017, although the federal data is murky. Most gig workers do not have access to company benefits like health insurance, sick leave, PTO, and disability insurance. The prevalence of the gig economy has also led to more individuals in the private insurance marketplace, or the Affordable Care Act , with the brunt of the cost placed on the individual worker to manage the high expenses.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s “concepts of a plan” and the few he has proposed were to repeal and replace the ACA, lessening protection for preexisting conditions.
Health care remains a pivotal issue with many Americans, particularly those balancing caregiving. With rising costs and an evolving workforce, voters want solutions that ensure access to affordable care while keeping their livelihoods. Harris' focus on including at-home care with Medicare benefits addresses the immediate needs of Americans but also may appeal to a broader voting base.
It’s a winning strategy.
