Seniors and Medicaid

Medicaid is not only a critical source of health care for pregnant women and infants, children and people with disabilities, it is a lifeline for seniors.

With the retirement of the baby boom generation, 10,000 Americans turn 65 years old every day, and up to 70% of them will need long-term care services at some point in their lives.

Medicaid is the primary source of long-term care services in the nation. It pays for about 40% of all services provided at home and in the community and 70% of all nursing home costs.

Because Medicaid is a federal-state partnership, the federal government is able to set basic quality standards for those services, and I am working hard to make sure that we provide seniors with a full range of safe and affordable long-term care options. For example, I authored a provision to require criminal background checks for long-term care workers, which was incorporated into law as part of Obamacare.

Medicaid also helps 6 million low-income– "dual eligibles" who receive benefits from both Medicare and Medicaid. Medicaid helps low-income seniors pay their Medicare premium and out-of-pocket costs and also can provide additional services – like hearing aids and dental care – that are not covered under Medicare.