In a State of the Union speech Thursday night that was lighter on healthcare than other domestic, and foreign, policy issues, President Biden gave a brief nod to home care.
The reference came after he mentioned proposing a minimum tax of 25% for billionaires, which he said would raise $500 billion over the next 10 years.
“Imagine what that could do for America … Imagine a future with home care and elder care so seniors and people living with disabilities can stay in their homes and family caregivers get paid what they deserve!,” he said.
A fact sheet published by the Biden administration on Thursday prior to the speech touted his accomplishments in increasing home- and community-based services. It noted that his administration delivered $37 billion to states to expand HCBS. Specifically, the funding provided a temporary 10 percentage point increase to the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) for certain Medicaid expenditures for HCBS. The FMAP increase expired on March 31, 2022.
The fact sheet also alluded to his support for the 80/20 provision in the proposed Medicaid Access Rule “to make sure home care workers get a bigger share of Medicaid payments for these critical services.”
And he is calling on Congress to allow older adults and those with disabilities on Medicaid home care waiting lists to remain in their homes, according to the fact sheet.
William Dombi, president of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice, praised the president for mentioning home care in his speech.
“We are very grateful that once again the president has highlighted the crucial importance of home care in his State of the Union speech,” 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 his address, Biden also mentioned his support for Medicare and Social Security.
“Tonight, let’s all agree once again to stand up for seniors!,” he said. “Many of my Republican friends want to put Social Security on the chopping block. If anyone here tries to cut Social Security or Medicare or raise the retirement age, I will stop them!”
He devoted the bulk of the healthcare discussion to the importance of reducing the cost of prescription drugs. He touted his administration’s lowering the cost of insulin for older diabetics to $35 a month.
“And now I want to cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month for every American who needs it!,” he said.
Biden also mentioned that this year Medicare is negotiating the price of some of the costliest drugs.
“Now it’s time to go further and give Medicare the power to negotiate lower prices for 500 drugs over the next decade,” he said.
