In the fall of 2018, Mayor Buttigieg’s family experienced a financial crisis in paying for their father’s long-term care needs. A pivotal point occurred when the social worker assigned to their case explained their best option was to spend “everything we had until we were asset-poor enough to qualify for Medicaid.” At that moment, Mayor Buttigieg said to himself, “Is that how this works in America?”
On Monday, November 25th presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg released a set of policy proposals to help older Americans have access to long term care.
Dignity and Security in Retirement
Mayor Buttigieg’s plan is called “Dignity and Security in Retirement,” which identifies the need for a national long-term care benefit while maintaining the marketplace for private long- term care insurance.
The critical component of Buttigieg’s plan is titled Long-Term Care America, and it would provide seniors a benefit of $90 per day for long-term care if they need it. This benefit may be utilized for either nursing home care or home health care. Seniors are eligible for long-term care benefits if they are aged 65 and older and are unable to perform two or more activities of daily living.
According to PeteforAmerica.com, 11.3 million people could receive benefits from his program sometime in their life. Also, Mayor Buttigieg’s plan calls for improving private long-term care insurance plans by introducing shorter-term plans, standardizing plans, and creating a marketplace.
Mayor Buttigieg’s plan also recognizes that according to some statistics, by 2026, there will be an estimated 8 million unfilled caregiving jobs. To address this shortfall, Mayor Pete is calling for the creation of national standards through a National Direct Care Workforce Standards Board and setting a $15 per hour minimum wage for workers.
Finally, Mayor Buttigieg’s long-term care plan includes services for home health care and community-based care by expanding limits on Medicare and Medicaid programs.
Do You Need Long-Term Care Today
When your family needs assistance in paying for at-home care as well as long term care delivered in a skilled nursing home, contact Medi-Cal Benefits. We’ve helped families in financial need for years and can probably help yours as well.
Need help paying for skilled nursing or at-home care? Download our free whitepaper on the 11 Ways to Pay for Long-Term Care and share it with your family. No cost or obligation!
Notes:
(1) https://peteforamerica.com/policies/dignity/
(2) https://storage.googleapis.com/pfa-webapp/documents/PFA_Retirement_White_Paper.pdf
