Harris proposes new funds for at-home senior care, aiming at 'sandwich generation'

By Gabriella Borter

(Reuters) -Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris announced a plan to expand healthcare benefits to cover at-home senior care in an interview on ABC's "The View" program on Tuesday, the latest policy proposal in her effort to boost the "care economy" and lower healthcare costs.

Vice President Harris rolled out the proposal in the first of a series of media interviews she was slated to do in New York on Tuesday, as she and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump race to energize voters before the Nov. 5 election.

The ABC show's viewership is largely comprised of middle-aged and older women, the target audience for Harris' promise to ease the burden of caring for children and aging parents at the same time, sometimes referred to as the "sandwich generation."

"I took care of my mother when she was sick. She was diagnosed with cancer," Harris said, describing her personal experience with caregiving.

"There are so many people in our country who are right in the middle. They take care of their kids and they're taking care of their aging parents, and it's just almost impossible to do it all," she said.

Harris' policy would expand Medicare, the federal insurance plan for elderly and disabled people, to cover long-term care for seniors at home for the first time, including services like in-home health aides, in hopes of saving American families the often high cost of nursing homes for aging family members. 

"It's about dignity for that individual, it's about independence for that individual," she said. "People are declining (in) skills to some extent, but their dignity and their pride has not declined. ... They want to stay in their home. They don't want to go somewhere else, for the family to send them to a residential care facility ... is so expensive."

The proposal would be funded by money saved from a new drug-price negotiation plan Biden introduced and by cracking down on hidden drug costs. 

Many policies echo President Joe Biden's "Care Economy" proposals trimmed from big spending bills passed in Congress.

More than a quarter of Americans age 50 and older are caring for at least one family member or friend who has a disability or health problem, according to an August poll from the University of Michigan. More than three-fourths of women aged 50 and older feel that people who care for aging loved ones are hurting in today's economy, according to a September poll from the American Association of Retired Persons.

Harris has already said she would offer a child tax credit of $6,000 as part of her overall economic platform, which seeks to financially aid Americans who are charged with the unpaid labor of caring for loved ones.

Harris' lead over Trump has narrowed to 46% for the vice president vs. 43% for Trump, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling completed on Monday.

(Reporting by Gabriella Borter; Editing by Heather Timmons and Jonathan Oatis)