Long-term care took center stage for a brief moment during Tuesday’s Democratic presidential primary debate.
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar called for increased access to long-term care and reducing costs for LTC insurance as candidates discussed Medicare for All and the public option.
“We have to make it easier for long-term care. It’s not just for seniors. It’s also for the sandwiched generation — the people trying to help their parents,” Klobuchar said.
In July, she released her “Plan for Seniors,” which called for increasing wages for long-term care workers, expanding facilities and creating a refundable tax credit to offset LTC costs.
“The real debate we should be having is how do we make it easier for people to get coverage for addiction and mental health? I have a plan for that. And then, finally, what should we do about long-term care? The elephant that doesn’t even fit in this room,” she added, while discussing her family and their struggles with her father’s care.
“We need to make it easier for people to get long-term care insurance. We need to make it easier for them to pay for their premiums.”
Operators are among the proponents of long-term care insurance, the growth of which could infuse the system with more private funding.
