In a speech last week, President Biden expressed support for Medicaid-funded care in the home.
Speaking last Tuesday at the Kempsville Recreation Center in Virginia Beach, VA, Biden referred to former Office of Management and Budget chief Russ Vought’s plan to cut Medicaid by $3 trillion. Slashing Medicaid would affect home care services for seniors, Biden said.
“Millions of seniors and people with disabilities who depend on Medicaid to help pay for their home care, including home health aides, could lose their ability to remain in their homes,” Biden said. “And, by the way, it saves the government money if they’re home and not in a nursing home.
“And those long waiting lists for home care, which has gone down under the last two years — the last five years 20 percent, would likely rise again, and states with no waiting lists would likely have them again.”
Biden also criticized Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) who has said he wants to sunset Medicare and Social Security every five years.
“If MAGA Republicans try to take away people’s healthcare by gutting Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, I will stop them,” the president said.
Biden has been vocal recently about the importance of allowing older adults to age in place. In his recent State of the Union address, Biden won kudos from aging services providers for his comments advocating for home care and family caregivers.
