Voters in four states will head to the polls Tuesday as the presidential primaries continue. John McCain is the presumptive Republican nominee, and the Democratic field has narrowed considerably since we highlighted their health care plans. With two candidates still vying for the Democratic nomination, the focus on health care has increased. Caregiving, elder care and long-term care have yet to be the center of the discussion, however. We distill what caregiving specifics the Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama campaigns have provided in the plans they have released.

Clinton’s Positions

Caregivers
• promote innovative care management programs to help those with chronic diseases
• expand paid leave across the country through a new State Family Leave Innovation Fund
• extend the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to cover 13 million additional American workers and guarantee workers at least 7 paid sick days per year
• prevent parents from being discriminated against because of their caregiving responsibilities

Long-term Care Options
• give more seniors the ability to access long-term care services where and when they need them, including in their homes
• provide a new Long-Term Care Insurance Tax Credit to make secure, high-quality insurance plans affordable
• stengthen our nursing and direct care workforce with a national system of background checks for long-term care workers and $125 million investment in Workforce Improvement Programs

Medicare
• reduce overpayments to private managed care plans and move toward a level playing field in the reimbursement of traditional Medicare and private managed care plans

Prescription Coverage
• allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices
• create a pathway for biogeneric drug competition
• remove barriers to generic competition
• provide more oversight over pharmaceutical companies’ financial relationships with providers

Obama’s Positions

Caregivers
• encourage team care that will improve coordination and integration of care of those with chronic conditions
• expand the FMLA to cover more purposes as well, including allowing workers to take leave for elder care needs
• allowing leave to be taken for purposes of caring for individuals who reside in their home for 6 months or more
• commit the government to enforcing recently-enacted Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines on caregiver discrimination

Long-term Care Options
• give seniors choices about their care, consistent with their needs, and not biased towards institutional care
• reform the financing of long term care to protect seniors and families
• improve the quality of elder care, including by training more nurses and health care workers

Medicare
• reduce waste in the Medicare system, including eliminating subsidies to the private insurance Medicare Advantage program, and tackle fundamental health care reform to improve the quality and efficiency of our healthcare system
• closing the “doughnut hole” in the Medicare Part D prescription drug program
• require companies to send Medicare beneficiaries a full list of the drugs and fees they paid the previous year to help seniors determine which plans can better reduce their out-of-pocket costs and improve their health

Prescription Coverage
• allow the federal government to negotiate for lower drug prices for the Medicare program
• allow seniors to import safe prescription drugs from overseas
• prevent pharmaceutical companies from blocking cheap and safe generic drugs from the market

Both candidates have their entire health care plans available on their Web sites. To read the details of the Hillary Clinton health care plan, visit her “American Health Choices Plan” Web site. She has also outlined a “Standing for Seniors” agenda. For more information on the Barack Obama health care plan, visit his “Plan for a Healthy America” Web site. He also has a “Seniors & Social Security” section.

For additional informaton, the Kaiser Family Foundation has a Web site which serves as a resource for health policy information during the presidential election season. Among its features is a page dedicated to comparing all major presidential candidates’ health care plans. If you are in a state yet to hold a primary, familiarize yourself with these plans, as well as other issues facing our country, before casting your ballot. If you have already voted, visit the AGIS Forums and start a discussion about your candidate’s position on the caregiving issues important to you.

Filed under: Caregiving, Elder Issues, Eldercare, End of Life Issues, Long Term Care, Medicare, Politics, Research, Social Security, Uncategorized, Working Caregivers