Medicare Rights Supports Expansion of Medicare Home Health to Allow Beneficiaries to Age in Place

Earlier this week, Vice President Harris announced a new proposal that would expand in-home services for people with Medicare.

Many people with Medicare struggle with activities of daily living like bathing, dressing, eating, or toileting but do not need intensive medical care.

While Medicare currently has a home health benefit, it has strict eligibility requirements, including being homebound and needing skilled nursing or skilled therapy services. Home health aides—workers who can help with activities of daily living—can be covered by Medicare for those who also need skilled nursing or skilled therapy. Medicare will not pay for an aide if the individual only requires personal care, not skilled care.

This means many people with Medicare are forced to pay out of pocket, rely on family and unpaid caregivers, or both. Medicare also lacks coverage for most caregiver supports, leaving many families scrambling to afford and supply the necessary care.

People enrolled in Medicaid, including those who also have Medicare, typically have access to some financial and structural assistance, including pay for family caregivers. But this and other Medicaid LTSS coverage—in particular for Home and Community Based Services (HCBS)—can be limited and difficult to navigate, and Medicaid is generally only available to people with very low incomes.

These circumstances make it imperative to strengthen and broaden Medicare coverage of home health to help people age safely in their homes and communities.

Reports indicate that Harris’s plan would provide Medicare coverage for people who struggle with activities of daily living and pay for home health aides for those who qualify. In addition, she proposes to add hearing and vision coverage to Medicare, which are all vital benefits for older adults and people with disabilities. To pay for these expansions, the Vice President proposes cost savings from additional drug price negotiations.

Medicare Rights strongly supports enhancing Medicare’s ability to support older adults and people with disabilities living safely in their homes and communities. We await further details on this proposal and urge policymakers to build a resilient and equitable home health system within Medicare and to expand Medicare coverage to include hearing, vision, and dental coverage.

Watch Vice President Harris’s announcement.

Read more about the need for better Medicare coverage in the home.