Where the presidential candidates stand on elder care issues
With a little more than two weeks remaining until Election Day, the policy positions of the major political parties’ nominees for president — Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump — have been under the microscope.
Each of their potential policies toward the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)’s Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program have already been documented by HousingWire’s Reverse Mortgage Daily (RMD). But another set of positions on the overarching issues related to elder care could also impact the reverse mortgage industry next year and beyond.
ElderLawAnswers, an online informational resource designed to clarify some of the legal issues and realities of laws pertaining to older Americans, recently compiled a profile of both candidates’ perspectives on elder care. It found — unsurprisingly — major differences in the approach each would take to the issues if elected.
The outlet identified four key differences between their approaches, with the first being centered on the role the government should play in elder care issues.
“The most significant difference between the two candidates is their vision for the role of government in caregiving,” the outlet said. “Harris envisions an expanded federal role, with significant government investment in caregiving infrastructure, financial support for families and direct service provisions. In contrast, Trump’s approach relies more on market-based solutions and state-level governance, aiming to reduce federal involvement and regulation.”
There is also a difference in how the candidates focus on the source of care: direct workers or family caregivers.
“Harris places a stronger emphasis on improving conditions for paid caregivers, including home health aides and nursing staff,” the article explained. “Her proposals include raising wages and providing better training for these workers. Trump’s platform, though supportive of family caregivers through tax incentives, does not offer the same focus on the professional caregiving workforce.”
The outlet also compared the policies each candidate has outlined for paid family leave, a cornerstone of Harris’ labor-focused campaign plans. While the first Trump administration offered a limited parental leave plan for federal workers, this isn’t a fixture of the 2024 campaign platform, according to the outlet. It characterizes Harris’ approach as “broader, encompassing not only parental leave but also leave to care for aging family members.”
The final key difference centers on care affordability.
Harris’ platform emphasizes making these caregiving services more cost-effective for a wider variety of families and individuals. Trump’s plan is more focused on providing different economic tools to make such care more attainable for people through the use of tax credits, access to private insurance coverage for some of these costs and offering the ability for the management of care services on an individual basis.
Harris recently spoke about her plan in an appearance on “The View,” a daytime TV talk show, where she said that she would aim to allow Medicare to cover more in-home care expenses.
Trump’s public-facing comments on such plans have been limited, though his campaign is more focused on private solutions and reducing regulatory barriers that the campaign says could interfere with personal management of such care.