Biden Plugs Home Care, Family Caregivers in State of the Union

McKnight's Home Care | By Liza Berger

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.

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