Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Wednesday Oct 9, 2024, issued the following statement after Vice President Kamala Harris unveiled a proposal to provide federal funding to cover home care costs for older Americans, as well as an expansion of Medicare to include hearing and vision coverage: 

“Congratulations to Vice President Harris for announcing a bold vision to expand Medicare to cover not only home health care, but also vision and hearing.  

“It is no secret that we have a major crisis in home health care. Millions of seniors would prefer, when possible, to receive care in their homes rather than be forced into nursing homes. Kamala’s plan is a major step forward not only in improving the quality of life for seniors and their families, but also in saving the health care system large sums of money.

“Further, her plan to expand Medicare to cover the cost of vision and hearing is enormously important. In the wealthiest country on earth, millions of lower-income seniors today are unable to afford the hearing aids and eyeglasses they desperately need. That is not acceptable. Every senior in America should be able to access these basic health care needs.”