Sanders' 'Medicare-for-all' expands long-term care benefits
BY RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR ASSOCIATED PRESS
MARCH 08, 2019 01:52 PM,
UPDATED 37 MINUTES AGO
WASHINGTON
Sen. Bernie Sanders is raising the stakes of the "Medicare-for-all" debate by expanding his proposal to include long-term care. That could force other Democratic presidential candidates to decide whether to continue supporting the bill given the high cost of providing long-term care coverage.
"Medicare-for-all" is unlikely to advance in the Republican-controlled Senate, but it's become a defining issue in the early days of the Democratic primary. Candidates point to their support of Sanders' legislation as proof of their progressive politics.
Some moderate Democrats have criticized the cost. By adding the long-term care provision, Sanders could further expose that divide.
So far, 2020 candidates Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Kamala Harris of California say they'll support the revised Sanders' bill.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/article227310724.html
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Excerpt:
His office says a new edition to be introduced in coming weeks will include added coverage for home- and community-based services, available to people of any age as Medicare for All benefits. Such services can include adult day care, a housekeeper, or home improvements like grab bars in the shower.
The shift by Sanders and his House counterparts came after intensive lobbying from disability rights advocates. The groups were a central part of the coalition that defeated President Donald Trump’s effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act and restrict federal financing for Medicaid.
The activists realized during that effort that even Medicare for All came up short on the needs of disabled people, said Nicole Jorwic, policy director for The Arc, which serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“If you don’t include long-term supports and services, it cannot be considered a bill that is for all people because it leaves out huge portions of the population, including people with disabilities and aging Americans,” she said.
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/sanders-medicare-for-all-expands-long-term-care-benefits/