Booker to unveil plan for older Americans’ long-term health care: report

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) is reportedly planning to unveil his plan to better deliver long-term health care to elderly Americans.

Reuters reports that Booker will roll out the plan during an AARP forum in Iowa on Monday.

{mosads}His plan will call for a drastic increase in funding for elderly Americans with long-term health care needs, particularly low- and middle-income seniors.

As part of his plan, Booker believes Americans should have the option to grow old in their own homes and not be moved to a nursing home if it is not necessary for health reasons.

His plan would increase pay for care workers who tend to the elderly in their own homes by paying them $15 an hour and giving them full benefits.

“In one of the richest nations in the world, no person should ever go broke or have to quit their job to afford long-term care or to take care of a loved one,” Booker said in a statement, according to Reuters.

Booker is slated to roll out his plan at an event hosted by AARP in Des Moines. The AARP is the leading nonprofit voice for people as they age, with about 40 million members as part of the group.

The country’s population of people age 65 and older is expected to nearly double to more than 80 million by 2050.

Booker says he will pay for his ambitious plan by changing the tax code to overhaul the capital gains, estate and income tax provisions.