Joe Biden has proposed a landmark $400 billion expansion of funding for home and community-based services (HCBS), the part of Medicaid that funds support services for older adults and people with disabilities living at home rather than in institutions. But with Congress fighting over which of Biden's priorities to cut to appease moderate Democrats, that proposal could be in peril.
Mia Ives-Rublee is a longtime disability rights activist who helped organize the Women's March in 2017 and now serves as director of the Disability Justice Initiative at the Center for American Progress. She spoke with Vox's Dylan Matthews about how HCBS works now, and how Democrats' plans for additional funding would change it.
References:
Biden’s home-based care plan, explained
Polling suggests funding for home care is quite popular
"How Could $400 Billion New Federal Dollars Change Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services?"
The House Energy and Commerce Committee proposal on HCBS
Better Care Better Jobs Act state-by-state fact sheet
The Urban Institute's report on strengthening long-term care services
Investing in Home Care and Early Childhood Educators Has Outsize Impacts on Employment
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