Statement of Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, Executive Director and CEO of MomsRising, the online and on-the-ground organization of more than one million mothers and their families, on the home health care plan the Harris/Walz campaign unveiled today:
“The home health care plan Vice President Harris unveiled today would be a godsend for millions of moms and families, who struggle to care for loved ones who are older or have disabilities, often at the same time they are trying to hold down jobs and raise children. Our country’s failure to create the kind of robust care infrastructure every society needs puts an enormous burden on moms and families while hobbling businesses and causing massive harm to our economy. The Harris/Walz plan released today would help change all that. It addresses an issue that matters deeply to America’s moms and families.
“One in four people in our country is raising children and has a parent 65 or older. Care is unaffordable and until now, Medicare has not covered in-home care. The burden on moms and other family caregivers is huge and for many of us, simply unmanageable – in large part because millions of us have no paid family or medical leave and have to risk our jobs to provide care.
“The Harris/Walz plan would change that by providing Medicare long-term care benefits to seniors living in their own homes, paid for by cost savings from negotiating lower prices for prescription medications. That’s why MomsRising and allies in the care community have been working with lawmakers and others to press for these advances for years. This is a smart and badly needed fix that would provide enormous relief to struggling moms and families while boosting businesses and our economy. This is the right plan at the right time for our country, and a vital part of the care infrastructure that, along with quality affordable child care and paid family and medical leave, will make our nation stronger and more successful.”