Senators Call On Biden To Uphold Promise To Expand Community-Based Services
Kristopher Conley plays on a tablet in his bedroom at the home he shares with his twin brother near Columbus, Ohio. Both brothers have severe autism and need 24-hour care. (Courtney Hergesheimer/The Columbus Dispatch/TNS)
Dozens of U.S. senators are urging President Joe Biden to make good on his campaign proposal to invest $450 billion in Medicaid home- and community-based services.
In a letter to Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris this month, 31 Democratic senators said that the administration should proceed with a plan to expand offerings for people with disabilities.
Last summer, Biden unveiled a broad proposal to address the nation’s “caregiving crisis,” which included a commitment to spend $450 billion over 10 years to allow people to choose to receive care in community-based settings. Biden said he wanted to give states enough money to cover the full cost of providing home- and community-based services to each person with a disability who’s currently on a waiting list.
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“My plan makes a bold investment so states can clear the waiting list,” Biden said at the time.
Now, Sens. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., are leading a group of lawmakers who want to see the commitment come to fruition. They argue that investing in home- and community-based services would help drive economic growth, create good jobs in the caregiving field and meet the needs of aging Americans and people with disabilities.
“Your vision includes a long overdue investment in the caregiving economy — to build a durable and robust workforce, to advance racial and gender equity and to make it possible for older adults and people with disabilities to receive long-term services and supports in their homes and communities. We strongly support this investment and stand ready to help your administration make it a reality,” the senators wrote in their letter.
“At the outset of your administration, we have the opportunity to rescue a teetering caregiving system and recreate it to transform the lives of millions of workers and to serve as an economic workhorse,” the letter states.
White House officials did not respond to a request for comment about the current status of the home- and community-based services proposal.
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