What is Obama doing for caregivers?

MichiganHopeful, if you are still around reading this. It is quite clear you are not for Obama, but even if the posted question is What is Obama going to do for caregivers?, and you are having "discussions", why are you giving Romney and Ryan free passes and not asking what they have done in all their years in publc office or will do for caregivers? That doesn't sound like an educated voter to me.

He already helped caregivers with the affordable care act (not everyone is old enough to have Medicare) and now those not on Medicare can also get health insurance (a great relief for any caregivers worried about not only day to day caregiving but also paying the bills) and by protecting Medicaid (which is often a more important source of help for caregivers than Medicare) he is keeping people like my family member at home by ensuring nursing home diversion funding is available to keep seniors and disabled in their communities, not in often neglectful and costly nursing homes. Here's an article you asked for.



He also attempted to enact affordable long term care insurance. And maybe not popular with people who want businesses unregulated to do whatever they want, he got new minimum wage and overtime protection for those who work as in home caregivers. This should be important to any caregiver with an aide coming to their home. Don't you want them paid a fair wage and able to get health insurance for themselves? Or do you want them having to work around the clock and while sick around your family member in order to support themsleves. I think it is outrageous (and I'd like any home health care agencies to explain this to me) how they can charge a client 16 per hour and pay the aid 10 per hour, day after day, week after week and not provide any health care benefits, no vacation time, tell them they have to buy their own gloves, they don't get mileage or pay for time traveling between jobs. They are considered independent workers and have to save to make sure they have enough at tax time to pay their taxes b/c the agency doesn't collect govt deductions. They have no unions, they are at the mercy of the "free enterprise system" that the triple Rs promote. and i can see why. The business owner is taking in 6 every hour and providing nothing, except initial placement and screening. Is this really the American way?

2much2cover: The question is "What is Obama going to do for caregivers" and I neither hear nor see of anything he is putting out there specific to helping caregivers. If you know of something, please give me your source so that I may check it out. Sorry, you are mistaken; I do NOT support Barack Obama and yes, I live in Michigan. What you are hearing from the media must be total Obama hype. I've been very involved in discussions with Michigan residents regarding their opionion of what help we can expect from Obama and it is a resounding "NONE". Remember, not everyone in Michigan is involved in the auto industry. Believing polls is your choice, but for me its what the real people on the street say that speaks to me. This state has suffered from too many broken Obama 2008 campaign promises but we have a new Republican governor and we are seeing a turn around in our state. Honestly, not one person who didn't work in the auto industry I spoke with said they would vote for Obama even though many did in 2008. I really have no more to say on the subject. Thank you for your comment.

LindaGs, just marked your answer helpful. I meant to address my comments to MichiganHopeful. by the way, the news below makes me very hopeful about Michigan also.

President Barack Obama, fresh off a Democratic National Convention in which the turnaround of Michigan's signature auto industry played a central role, heads into the final two months of the campaign with the state's voters solidly behind him.

A poll done by EPIC-MRA of Lansing for the Free Press, WXYZ-TV (Channel 7) and other media partners showed Obama with a commanding 10-percentage-point lead over Michigan-born-and-raised Mitt Romney, whose chances in the state may have been seriously hurt by last week's Democratic convention in Charlotte, N.C.

LindaGS: so what is his plan? Other than to protect those haves already who are not paying their fair share of taxes, like Romney himself, witih his 15% taxes. How this man thinks was exposed by, believe it or not, Jay Leno when he appeared on his talk show with this exchange copied below. How fortunate that he and his wife could afford to pay for insurance all those years b/c when her health problems occurred b/c if she was Mrs. Doe, whose husband's job did not offer health insurance, in the Romney world, it would have been tough luck, no insurance for you b/c you didn't buy it when you were healthy.

In an interview with "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno, Romney, a famously cautious campaigner who is occasionally teased for his on-camera stiffness, spent a few minutes cracking jokes before moving to serious back-and-forth over health care overhaul.

When repeatedly pressed by Leno over his plans to repeal President Obama’s health care law, Romney said under his own plan some individuals with pre-existing conditions would be guaranteed coverage.

“As long as you have been continuously insured, you ought to be able to get insurance going forward,” Romney said, but added that security would not be extended to so-called free-riders who only apply for insurance once they fall ill.

“If they are 45 years old and they show up and say I want insurance because I have heart disease, it's like, hey guys - we can't play the game like that,” Romney said.

LindaGS: Using your words "When the system is set up so that people can not earn enough to create a tax base that supports the social services we would like to have, local governments go broke and social services erode." Exactly. That is why we need to back a political option (Romney) that has a real plan to help this country to get back to work and businesses to grow and thus increase that tax base. Obama made MANY promises while campaigning the first time; now we are hearing the exact same things. Why? Because he didn't fix things the first time and now he wants a second chance. It's simple; grow the national economy not the national debt and we will again have the money for much needed social services. When our country is fiscially responsible, there is money to be allotted for vitally important things such as care giving. We are a large group that should not remain silent. Speak up! Contact your government at all levels and demand the caregiving issue be recognized. I'm not for government intrusion into my life mandating what help I can or can't get. I want to see options available from which myself and my loved one can make choices based on what fits our needs. I cared for my mother, in my home, for two years. As one of those aging baby boomers myself, I am taking needed steps to try and assure I am not passing this difficult financial situation on to my own children.

As Cat said above...caregiving is not political, at least it shouldn't be. No party...Republican, Democrat, Libertarian...nor any President, or Congress has done anything which focuses on caregiving. If fingers are going to be pointed for blame...it should be pointed at all of our lawmakers.

I guess it boils down to how people define family and how people define government. I believe that both should serve as our insurance and our safety net. I have bought lots of long term care insurance, fire insurance, health insurance and disability insurance.Ii do believe that I need to do my part. But for me the government is at it's best when the central issues are the ones we do better when we cooperate-- roads, sewers, schools, food quality, water quality, air quality, trade and money systems, defense, police fire. The problem is the agencies that do these jobs find that all systems are affected by the humans involved. Take water quality, if people are pouring motor oil down the drain, or are camping in the gullies and shitting in the stream it becomes an issue of public safety for the water quality managers. Who do they send out to encourage these folks to behave in a way that is good for everyone? What if the people are making these choices because of igorance or poverty or illness? That is why the social net of health care and housing gets created. The firefighters do not want to take the orphans home from each fire and care for them. The police do not have a solution as to what to do with the drunk who is sleeping on the steps of the school. I am in support of the firefighter, police and water quality guy. If they think we need more social services to get the world to a good place I need to support that.
Life is uncertain and sometimes it is so unfair. That is when we need to carry each other.
When the system is set up so that people can not earn enough to create a tax base that supports the social services we would like to have, local governments go broke and social services erode. That is what we are experiencing.That is the reality in the third world. My friend who lived in Nigeria lives with no fire service. When a house catches fire they get everyone out and let it burn to the ground helplessly. That is not a society I favor.

ganswilliams, I don't want to get personal, but since you said you take issue with the idea that caregivers should look to the govt for help, can you tell me how you are getting by without any govt help (like Medicare)? B/c , as someone who considers myself pretty independent and resourceful,, worked the same job over 25 years and who was working full time and suddently faced with a parent who could not care for themselves ,who did not have a long term insurance policy or lots of assets, I'd like to know, what were my choices, other than turning my back on my parent (is this the R solution? which by the would would have made the govt pay for full time medicaid nursing home placement?, unless the R solution involves sending the poor elderly into the forest to die alone? ) if I didn't have the meager 20 hours of govt supplied aides i now get , I would have to quit my job entirely. So why do you say I shouldn't expect my govt to help me when I have been a loyal citizen and taxpayer for years? I don't get a choice in whether my tax dollars go to wars or to pay for others mtg or loan mistakes so why should others tell me that I shouldn't get help for caregiving or help with health insurance?

So Cal 101
What hood? that is the most amazing choice of words.. He went to Punaho High School, lived in a lovely high rise with his grandmother the bank vice president. Then he attended three prestigous private colleges.... What "hood" is he from? What hood has he been in to collect these thugs? Such a Alice in Wonderland world we are in right now. I think that hood is called Harvard Law, guess your kin went to Yale.

It is so sad to read these type of comments. Healthcare in the US is complex. In Canada it is very different. The Republicans fear Socialism, but if we all work together, we will make progress. I believe that Obama had done the best he could with the issues he faces. I do not envy your country.

Sorry i don't agree with the majority of negative remarks of president Obama must be republicans lol. We take it upon ourselves to take care of our elderly or disabled. I let my wife move mil in with us for almost 10 yrs. If not for her eyesight she would have been able to stay in her own home. She took too many falls,even towards the end of her life when she finally talked my wife into letting her move back home a 2 hour drive. Mil did everything she could to get the rest of her family to get her back home. Forgot to mention she was forced to move. Mil even went so far as to say i was mean and abusive towards her. My wife would only use her moms money to buy her necessities. I used to get get mad because she would not treat herself to anything but she would send $200 with her whenever she went home for a week. I had a gm job so we really never needed any,but i would not have hesitated had i not had that good paying job. So chck all avenues with your state government on getting whatver help you may need? But you need to try before bashing anyone. Sorry

The only thing Obama is interested in is NOT talking about his failures. He is a liar and has filled our White House with thugs from his Hood. He needs to go. He had a chance. What are you doing for your children or grandchildren? If the answer is voting for Obama I hope you like the looks of GREECE!

I take issue with the idea that caregivers should look to the government for help.
We, as caregivers, are the epitome of strength. We are better equipped to develop our own strategy and far surpass the ineffective, unprodutive, wasteful "help" a massive bureaucracy would ever deliver.

My concerns about the political world is the abundance of people who are unaware that the portion of social security that is endangered is the portion covering the disabled. That is the main reason why you will never get out of it as much as you put in. But that is a good idea. Do we really want to go back to seeing kids with no parents, out on the street with no support? Expensive to care for adults being left alone with no suport. .

The Romney ticket is firmly committed to changing medicare and social security, which are not just programs for the aged. Ask anyone with a handicapped child how important these safety net issues are. Many posters here have no safety net for their parents other than social security and Medicare. If these were altered many of us would have pretty insurmountable care giving decisions to make. I am grateful that I was able to secure my pension, as a teacher well enough up to this point in time, that I am confident that I will not end up destitute for taking time to care for my mother. I am grateful for her teachers pension, medicare insurance, and an elderbreak on the house taxes. These are important factors that are allowing me to remain in her home caring for her.

I would encourage people to look at the candidates from the issues that are important to you. For me it is clear that the Obama/Biden Democratic ticket is the most likely agent to allow me to stay in the middle class through this difficult period of my life.

I am grateful that preventive care is free now, so that I can get my mom her flu shots, teeth cleaning and other preventive care seamlessly. I am grateful that when my Cobra runs out, there will be an insurance pool formed in my state for me to choose a carrier to buy insurance from. This is the insurance program, designed by Romney, that was the basis of the National Health Care Initiative passed under Obama. I would like to give Romney credit, but he does not want it.

I hope Mrs Obama's interest in health of children and families and the health and welfare for the vets will translate in efforts to smooth process that we must battle to get our families what they need to thrive.

I am sad that the manufacturing and mill trades that many of our elders were able to work in have moved abroad. That is a huge loss that makes my generation look like a bunch of bums. There is no steel mill to walk into and know you got a job, there is no dock to go join a ship on.

Hourly wages are very depressed right now and perhaps that is a bonus to us as it means we can afford care givers-- if we can afford care givers..... On the other hand I believe it has caused my relatives to de-value what i am contributing.

I believe Mrs. Obama understands what it is like to work full time and care for her parents and her children. She was an extremely successful lawyer before she entered the White House. She surrendered her law degree so that she would not have to do an continuing education while Barrack was in office. She will resume her career when he leaves office.

Joe Biden's wife is a college professor and continues to work full time.

So many of the posts here are "where can I look for help" and generally the answers given a civic offices and agencies. Other people believe those people sitting in our communities on government salaries are "Big Government", but I do not. First off they are people with middle class incomes that are helping my local grocery store stay open and second they are important to create community and support and healthy families.

I am surprised that Mrs Romney has not spoken out about access to health care as she has a chronic disease. I know he has good benefits so possibly it is not a barrier they have experienced.

Amen, 2much2cover. So much is invested in the younger part of the population and the old are talked about like they are just parasites. I wonder at what age people lose value in the US. We all put a lot of tax dollars into educating and caring for children, even if we had no children of our own. We have good low-cost daycare and public education that cares for children most of the day. But when it comes to old people, everything is handled through the healthcare system. Most of us can't afford adult daycare. Most of us can't afford NHs. And many people are being horrified finding that their LTC policies they took out years ago don't cover even a small amount of what is needed.

Most states now have a partnership program that lets people partner with the state for LTC through Medicaid. It is still Medicaid, but if you are a paying partner, then you won't have to spend down in the event you need it. (I never trust the states completely with their programs, which often crumble when they run into financial trouble. We had that happen here with Alabama's college tuition "partnership" program. What a mess!)

Unlike one of the posters, I want to go on record that I REALLY WANT MORE GOVERNEMENT HELP AS A CAREGIVER. I'm not gonna be sold by that "pull yourself up by your bootstraps, find solutoins for yourself bs" . The USA is a great country and if family values are important, then programs that support families should be also. With costs as they are today, there is no way you can care for an elderly person without govt help, unless you are extremely wealthy, or were fortunate enough to be able to purchase good long term care insurance for them when it was still cheap and would actually cover something. Just as we provide schools for children, we need to provide quality places for our elderly, whether it is funding to help keep them at home or govt regulation of assisted living and nursing home facilities so we can have peace of mind that if we can't care for them at home, they are being properly cared for somewhere else. My first request of any politician: Provide families with the same funds or even 70 percent of the Medicaid funds you are willing to pay a nursing home business for providing less quality care than they could get if they could remain in their family homes.

mrsribbit, the original proposal was for healthcare to be handled pretty much as Medicare is now, only the insurer would be outside the federal government and everyone would pay for the insurance, probably through increased taxes -- the proposal never made it off the ground floor. Everyone feared higher taxes and the involvement of the federal government. Few stopped to reason how much they pay for insurance now. This money would be used to fund the program, which would have been handled by companies outside the government, as most of Medicare is.

One problem that was not popular is that it gave tremendous power to the insurer to contain the cost of healthcare. Hospitals, etc., certainly didn't want that. Another problem is the mountain of paperwork, which is why many doctors don't like dealing with Medicare and Medicaid now.

There were horror stories about the terrible health care in Canada, a country with universal coverage. My friends in Canada couldn't figure out why things were being said. They have the option of having a private doctor if they want, but most go with the free care and have their own doctors. One of my friends from Canada wrote me that he always takes out traveler's insurance when he goes to the USA. He goes to Hawaii every year. He said if he were to become sick when he was here, our system might wipe him out financially. And he is very comfortable financially. Canadians can fear getting sick in the US. I understand. I have BC/BS, but know my copays could still wipe me out if something serious happened.

The cost of medicine is a problem that needs to be dealt with in the US. People stay in jobs they don't like so they won't lose coverage. Unexpected illnesses can put families into bankruptcy. And increasingly, family estates are being totally spent paying healthcare costs. IOW, the healthcare system is winding up with everything in the end.

Good answer Cat. If we are going to ask what the current president is doing for caregivers, let's go back and ask what the prior presidents did. Presdent Clinton pushed the Family Medical Leave Act through. Anyone else have some info based on facts not political bias? It seems to me, at least in my state, that the party that wants to cut programs that help famililes is not the party of the current president. NBC news tonight did a feature on caregivers and the AARP new public service ads to bring attention to caregivers. USA Today also did a story do an internet search for "caregiver's aarp public service commercials". My question to fellow caregivers is: what do we want ALL POLITICIANS to do for caregivers? Most of us can't even get help from our own families to assist us.

Sorry. Double post.

Vote him out. He doesn't even care about the elderly. Let alone caregivers
Sure let us take care of our elders so the government saves on Medicaid.
Then he can hire "more" government. Already in our private business too much. .

Vote him out. He doesn't even care about the elderly. Let alone caregivers
Sure let us take care of our elders so the government saves on Medicaid.
Then he can hire "more" government. Already in our private business too. Much.

Jessie, We may be able to choose our own doctors but they may not pay what they want for their services. Not all doctors are alike. I want a doctor that will find an answer but universal HC will take care in triage fashion and if you are dealing with non-life threatening pain you will have to wait at the end of the line. You may not even get help.

One thing he wanted was universal (single payer) health care. By the time the bill made it out of the house, it was nothing like what was wanted. No one can convince me that universal coverage is not the way to go. We are told our quality of healthcare will go down and we won't be able to choose our own doctors. My only response is "WHAT quality?" and why couldn't we choose our own doctor? Medicare is universal care and it works for patients usually.

One question I would ask is what a government can do to make it easier for caregivers.

Vote him out. He doesn't even care about the elderly. Let alone caregivers
Sure let us take care of our elders so the government saves on Medicaid.
Then he can hire "more" government. Already in our private business too. Much.

I'm relieved some people here are not fooled by some biased reporting I've noted here. Way too many people still believe the biased mainstream media and only listen to what they say. And people don't seem to care as much about obvious lies anymore. Sad. God help us all because we surely do need His help!

Besides I'm of the mindset that I don't really WANT government "help" (aka--INTERFERENCE!). We need to find solutions ourselves and quit depending upon the government that nearly always fails us!

I agree with Lissanne. I have seen some articles recently and even a special on TV which discussed caregivers and our issues. I think that bringing our stories to the attention of our polititcians might help. Lissanne is right - it doesn't hurt to pick up the phone and ask them to recognize caregivers.

Regardless of politics, I have heard it said that at some point in everyones life they will become a caregiver, know a caregiver or need to rely on a family member to act as a caregiver. Alzheimers is increasing, people are living longer and the baby boomers are aging.

Maybe the topic should be changed to what is our government doing for caregivers, instead of just the current president. Caregiving is not political, but like many other groups relies on politicians to set national priorities to support our efforts. I wonder what would happen if our politicians passed legislation that would recognize and support what caregivers do and how much we contribute to our families and society.

Ask away, and yes they will definately be so sympathetic, but what are they actually doing about it?

anyone here try emailing him or their congressional representative? I have. The answer I got back from my rep was not canned and he was very concerned about caregiver issues because quite a few military spouses are now caregivers for their elderly famliy members and their returning wounded warrior soldiers. There is some legislation in the pike in Texas, not sure about the federal level or other states. But hey it sure didn't hurt for me to ask.

Hi Jerome! I have lived in two different states where there were plenty of toll roads, and I have to tell you, they were empty everytime I saw them, and that was every day.
But to stay on topic, don't hold your breath on the help expected from the annointed one.