Kamala Harris and Tony Evers bring new ideas designed to help the elderly, disabled, and their home caregivers

The vice president unveils a plan for Medicare coverage of vision, hearing, and home care—paid for by negotiating lower drug prices with Big Pharma—while the Wisconsin governor uses American Rescue Plan funds to boost pay for direct caregivers.

Some long-needed relief is coming for the “Sandwich Generation,” the 54% of Americans who have to balance childcare for their kids and healthcare needs for aging parents, as Vice President Kamala Harris proposes Medicare coverage for at-home care and Gov. Tony Evers begins using American Rescue Plan funds to provide a pay boost for at-home caregivers.

Harris introduced her proposal Tuesday on ABC’s “The View” as the White House issued a report saying 105 million Americans are currently acting as caregivers for loved ones who are elderly or disabled. Harris said the coverage will be paid for by continuing to expand Medicare’s new ability to negotiate bulk prices for prescription drugs—an element of the Inflation Reduction Act. For 20 years, Republicans had blocked price negotiations with pharmaceutical companies. Harris’ plan also would have Medicare begin vision and hearing coverage for its 67 million enrollees.

Evers’ plan, which took effect this month after being announced in August, provides $258 million in federal funding to set up a minimum fee schedule for caregivers in home and community-based settings. The Wisconsin Dept. of Health Services estimates the plan will provide a 15 percent rate increase for most home care services and a 40 percent rate increase for most of the services provided at residential facilities. 

The vice president talked about her first-hand experience caring for her mother when she had cancer.

“We’re talking about the kinds of things where it’s just about helping an aging parent or person prepare a meal, put their sweater on,” Harris said. “It’s about dignity. People are of declining skills to some extent, but their dignity, their pride does not decline.”

“They want to stay in their home. They don’t want to go somewhere else. Plus, for the family to send them to a residential care facility or to hire somebody is so expensive. It’s such a burden that’s emotional, financial, and physical.”

For his part, Evers’ plan focuses on improving wages for direct care providers, whether at home or in a residential facility. It creates a fee schedule to establish the minimum that managed care organizations (MCOs) must pay providers for certain adult long-term care services in Medicaid programs that include Family Care, Family Care Partnership, and Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). Together, those programs serve nearly 57,000 older adults and adults with disabilities. 

The Wisconsin Dept. of Health Services estimates the plan will provide a 15 percent rate increase for most supportive home care services and a 40 percent rate increase for services provided at residential facilities.

“I declared 2024 the Year of the Worker in Wisconsin to continue focusing on our efforts to address our state’s generational workforce challenges, chief among them efforts to bolster our healthcare and direct care workforces,” Evers said in a statement. “Our healthcare workers have faced significant challenges these past few years, and these investments will go a long way toward helping make sure workers receive the support and fair compensation they deserve.”

Evers called on the Legislature to continue the investments in the next state budget when it’s up for debate next spring.