A Bad Policy Proposal From Kamala Harris

Two days ago, the Harris-Walz campaign released the basic outline of a proposal to expand Medicare benefits to cover home health care for 67 million elderly and disabled individuals. The announcement received widespread media coverage in largely favorable terms without much analysis, despite the campaign providing only sketchy details and no budget score. The proposal is bad policy because it would be costly for the federal government amid massive budget deficits, and inequitable, passing resources freely to those who can already afford care. It would increase the costs of many types of personal care by significantly raising demand for home care while constraining supply; moreover, an expansion of supply would likely require increased immigration. It would create poor incentives to save and obtain insurance, while reducing the need for family formation. The proposal would create a massive federal bureaucracy and would be partially funded by restricting drug prices paid to manufacturers, which could hinder life-saving medical discovery.