I used to think of caregiving as somebody else’s issue. Then I served as a state HHS director, and I had to arrange care for my parents. Now I see #CareCantWait. On POTUS's plan to invest in homecare slots AND caregiver wages, a thread:

Quality care for loved ones requires a decent wage for caregivers. Families regularly lose wonderful staff to terrible pay. Yet personal connection matters deeply in this intimate, demanding work. Churn hurts everyone.

Investing in caregivers is a three-generation policy to advance human dignity. For the elderly who get more better care. For the caregivers who get the decent wage they deserve. For their children who grow up with better, more stable incomes.

Years ago I worked on the CLASS Act, a doomed effort to address the long-term care crisis with voluntary insurance for everyone. The Biden proposal is cleaner: add homecare slots and pay fairly for them. It’s a big step in addressing a massive challenge.

While the caregiver plan won’t pay for itself, there will be real savings as costs for recruiting staff, nursing care, and emergency care all drop. The savings come from spending smarter, making lives better.

My ailing mom has had the same caregivers for 6+ months. I so admire their grace, physical and emotional, as they gently bathe and feed the woman who bathed and fed me. They know her, care for her, care about her. How much is that worth? /end #CareCantWait