Hillary vs Obama on senior care & goals vs plans

[man4allcats]

I was just comparing Obama and Hillary on an issue that, for personal though no longer immediate reasons, is close to my heart, that of long-term care for our seniors. Obama's plan is:

Strengthen Long-Term Care Options: As president, Obama will work to give seniors choices about their care, consistent with their needs, and not biased towards institutional care. He will work to reform the financing of long term care to protect seniors and families. He will work to improve the quality of elder care, including by training more nurses and health care workers.

- snip -

Protecting Seniors: After reports that lobbyists, but not the American people, received information about the most unsafe nursing homes in the country, Barack Obama demanded the Department of Health and Human Services release that information to the public. Following Obama's letter, the names of the four Iowa care facilities cited for unsafe care were released to the public. Obama's efforts follow his successful efforts in Illinois to make nursing home information public and strengthen elder abuse laws.

People who talk about business models say that many businesses fail because they lack a business plan. They have a goal - to go into business and make a lot of money, but they have no plan as to just how they will do that.


Hillary's plan for long-term senior care is too detailed to list here in it's entirety. Here is a brief snippet from her site's first paragraph on the subject:

"Clinton's plan includes a $3,000 caregiving tax credit, a doubling of the elderly standard deduction and a long-term care insurance tax credit so that millions of seniors and their families can afford care. She would also end insurance discrimination and focus on the quality of care, tripling the funding for nursing home ombudsmen, creating a national system of background checks for long-term care workers and requiring disclosure of poor-performing nursing homes." (emphasis added)
__________________________________________________________

Please click this link to read in detail how she intends to approach this issue.

Returning to my business plan analogy, it seems to me after reviewing both, that while Obama has an admirable goal, Hillary has a well thought out, detailed plan. I realize this is only one issue, but it is a big one for me and many others who have ever had to fight with a nursing home in an effort to secure quality of care and quality of life for a family member. Neither Hillary nor Obama would have been my preferred choice for nominee, but things being as they are, I have recently been leaning toward Obama - that is until now. If I must choose between two corporate approved candidates neither of whom, by virtue of their corporate ties alone, is ideal, I think I am more inclined to go with the one whose approach, at least on this issue and maybe on others as well, is more systematic.

I have been waffling between the two for the better part of a week since the polls opened here in Texas for early voting in the primary. Much to my own surprise, I think I'm going to go with Hillary.

edit: for spacing

[Wesin04]

1. Her plan shows

She gets it. Senior issues are huge and they must be thoroughly understood and dealt with soon. As one who cared for my mother in my home, through Medicare sign ups, through health care problems, and eventually, through her death, I am well aware of what they struggle with day to day. For more and more of us, the "sandwich" generation, those problems fall on us and our families as well.

Glad to hear that she has your vote cause I think she gets this problem better than anyone and is best equipped to get a handle on it and take action.

[MH1]

3. Has Hillary authored / gotten passed, any relevant legislation or other action?

The op cites a case where Obama already took action at the federal level, resulting in an improved situation for seniors in his state.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

9. Her work on S-CHIP, comes immediately to mind.

[MH1]

17. a) how did that affect senior care? b) what did she do?

The op and my response referred to care for seniors.

And, SCHIP was Kerry and Kennedy's bill, and didn't Kennedy come out recently and debunk that Hillary did anything significant on it?

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

21. Sorry, I didn't see it referenced. Anyway, if you're spoiling for a fight about this,

I won't provide further chum.

[Auntie Bush]

2. K & R and good for you. Someone who reasons things out and studies the issues...

THEN makes a decision...rather than blindly following the cheering crowd.

[MH1]

4. I like Obama's goal of improving choices including non-institutional care.

Having had some personal experience with this myself, I think the strengthening of non-institutional options is very important.

[UALRBSofL]

5. I believe Obama is wanting to increase

The retirement age for social security also. If someone has a link to that I'd appreciate it. :)

[MH1]

8. I haven't seen that.

However, his plan does include eliminating income tax for seniors making less than $50,000, and strengthening retirement security programs:

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/socialsecurity/

[Big Blue Marble]

11. You make the charge,

You supply the link. He has never advocated raising the retirement age.

[UALRBSofL]

13. Big Blue Marble I don't know for sure

That's why I was asking if anyone had a link.

[MH1]

19. If it never happened, then there isn't a link.

However did you check out the link that I did provide?

[MH1]

23. Here's the link!

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/pdf/SeniorsFactSheet.pdf

Oh wait, it says he WON'T raise the retirement age!

Barack Obama is committed to ensuring the long-term financial security of Social Security. Obama will be
honest with the American people about the solvency of Social Security and the ways we can fix the problem.
Obama will make it a top priority of his administration to protect Social Security benefits for current and future
beneficiaries alike. And he does not believe it is necessary or fair to hardworking seniors to raise the retirement
age.

Barack Obama will only advocate reforms that truly strengthen Social Security. That’s why he’ll continue his
long record of opposing the privatization of Social Security, which has dominated the debate in Washington for
too long. Privatization tears the fabric of Social Security – the idea of mutual responsibility – by subjecting a
secure retirement to the whims of the market, and that is not an acceptable way to strengthen this program.

Obama believes that the first place to look for ways to strengthen Social Security is the payroll tax system.
Currently, the Social Security payroll tax applies to only the first $97,500 a worker makes. Obama supports
increasing the maximum amount of earnings covered by Social Security and he will work with Congress and
the American people to choose a payroll tax reform package that will keep Social Security completely solvent
for at least the next half century.

Oops, sorry. I guess that wasn't what you were looking for. ;)

[OzarkDem]

7. How is he going to do that?

How will he give people choices?

[MH1]

12. One way is to make home care more accessible.

One way to do that is to help family caregivers. The specifics for that are actually included in his plan for Americans with disabilities, but it includes caregivers for the elderly:

http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/DisabilityPlanFactSheet.pdf

Assuring Workers with Disabilities and Family Caregivers Get the Flexibility at Work They Need: Some workers with disabilities are unable to take or keep jobs, or even to remain in the workforce, because they don’t have the scheduling flexibility to tend to their health care needs. Scheduling flexibility, including time off from work, can be an appropriate – even an essential – “accommodation” for many employees with disabilities. In addition, more than 50 million “family caregivers” provide support to older people or to people with disabilities.

These families spend an average of twenty-one hours per week caring for a relative with a disability or illness and paid thousands of dollars in extra out-of-pocket expenses, on average. These added responsibilities expose family caregivers to a substantially higher risk of physical and mental health challenges ranging from stress, alcohol abuse, and depression, to heart disease, high blood pressure, and arthritis. Approximately 60 percent of family caregivers are women, and more than half are employed. Family caregivers also need the accommodation of workplace flexibility to help them navigate work and caregiving while also struggling to pay their bills and maintain their households. To provide greater workplace flexibility, Obama will:

• Expand the Family and Medical Leave Act: The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides
eligible employees of larger employers (i.e., 50 or more employees) with 12 weeks of unpaid leave to
care for a family member’s or their own serious health condition. Barack Obama will guarantee that
millions more workers have access to FMLA leave by reducing the threshold for which employers are
covered from companies with 50 or more employees to those with 25 or more.

• Encourage States to Adopt Paid Leave: According to the National Partnership for Women and
Families, 78 percent of employees covered by the FMLA who have needed leave but have not taken it
report that it is because they could not afford to take unpaid leave. Of those employees who could not
afford leave, nearly 88 percent report that they would have taken leave if they had been able to receive some pay while away from work. As president, Barack Obama will initiate a 50-state strategy to
encourage all of the states to adopt paid-leave systems. Obama will provide a $1.5 billion fund to assist states with start-up costs and to help states offset the costs for employees and employers. Obama’s Department of Labor will also provide technical information to the states on how to craft paid-leave programs consistent with their local needs.

• Mandate A Reasonable Amount of Paid Sick Leave: Half of all private-sector workers have no paid
sick days. The problem is worse for employees in low-paying jobs where less than a quarter receive any
paid sick days. But sick days can be critical for workers with disabilities. For example, employees with cancer may need to attend chemotherapy sessions or seek other intermittent treatments for their physical or mental impairments. Barack Obama will require that employers provide seven paid sick days per year – which may be taken on an hourly basis – so that Americans with disabilities can take the time off they need without fear of losing their jobs or a paycheck.

• Protect Against Caregiver Discrimination: Workers with family obligations often are discriminated
against in the workplace. This is a growing problem, as evidenced by the skyrocketing number of
discrimination suits being filed: there has been a 400 percent increase in the number of family
responsibility discrimination lawsuits in the last decade. Obama will prevent family members from
being discriminated against because of caregiving responsibilities. Barack Obama will commit the
government to enforcing recently-enacted Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines on
caregiver discrimination.

[OzarkDem]

16. Obama's solution is to let your elderly parents move in with you?

And get your boss to let you have a few more days off each year?

Wow, that almost sounds like a GOP plan.

Hillary's plan offers much, much more.

[MH1]

18. So you want to shut your parents away in a nursing home?

Got it.

Actually, many people prefer to keep their parents out of the nursing home as long as possible -particularly if both are alive but one needs extensive care.

I've been in this situation. I am trying hard not to see you as heartless, because perhaps you haven't been.

Adios.

[emilyg]

24. So have I.

My Dad had Altzheimers. Keeping him at home did not work out. He kept falling down the stairs. Wandering off from home. I had no choice but put him in a nursing home for his own safety.

[OzarkDem]

6. Clinton's plan looks better, has more specifics

This is fairly consistent between the two candidates. Clinton obviously put a lot of time and effort into developing her plans and policies. Obama's are vague.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

10. The key difference between the two..she has an indepth understanding of health care delivery

in this country, from the front line healthcare workers and doctors on up through each layer of bureaucracy.

It shows in her plan.

[OzarkDem]

14. She has an in depth understanding of most issues

that's why she's a better candidate.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

15. Very true, that!

:applause:

[MethuenProgressive]

20. K&R!

Thanks for a fine example of what DU posts should be like.

[Vinca]

22. I like that Obama doesn't think seniors making $50,000 or less

should have to pay taxes. That's a whole lot of people.