Tuesday, October 9, 2024
Year : 2, Issue: 6
As part of her New York media blitz Tuesday, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris will join the co-hosts of ABC’s “The View” for a live discussion surrounding caregiving of both children and aging parents, a senior campaign official confirmed ahead of her appearance on the daytime talk show as part of her pitch to middle class voters.
It comes as her campaign is rolling out new policy proposals focused specifically on benefiting seniors and their caretakers.
Harris is proposing a first-ever Medicare home care benefit to address long-term care needs for seniors, according to a senior campaign official granted anonymity to discuss the forthcoming policy plan. The plan would cover home care services such as in-home aide care, taking some of the physical burden off caretakers, but also hoping to ease the financial strain of aging, with thecampaign estimating a savings for families of around $3,000 per month or more.
The senior official says the benefit would be fully paid for by expanding Medicare drug price negotiations, increasing the discounts drug manufacturers cover for certain brand-name drugs in Medicare, cracking down on Pharmacy Benefit Manager hidden costs, and other measures.
Harris’ focus on the so-called “sandwich generation,” individuals who are caring for both children and aging or ill family members, is a personal one that she has talked about recently on the campaign trail.
“I remember being there for my mother when she was diagnosed with cancer – cooking meals for her, taking her to her appointments, trying to make her comfortable, figuring out which clothes were soft enough that they wouldn’t irritate her. Telling her stories to try and make her laugh. I know caregiving is about dignity,” said Harris at a rally in Pittsburgh last month.
Harris has focused a majority of her policy speeches on the economy, an area many polls say voters see former President Donald Trump as stronger. Harris has been focusing on expanding the middle class by pitching programs such as expansion of the child tax credit, a $25,000 tax credit for first time homebuyers, and an expansion of the small business tax credit.
Harris is also scheduled to sit down with Howard Stern and Stephen Colbert during her trip to New York Tuesday.
Source: Spectrum News NY1
