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Joe BidenCongratulations to our presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden!
 

brooklynite

(93,873 posts)
Thu Nov 28, 2019, 10:34 PM Nov 2019

O.K., Mayor: Why 37-Year-Old Pete Buttigieg Is Attracting Boomers

https://t.co/FMIh43LvSF" target="_blank">NewcYork Times

DENISON, Iowa — Pete Buttigieg likes a crisp white button-down — no fuss, no flash — and his favorite novel is by a man who died in 1941.

He has taken to calling himself “the retirement guy,” after introducing a plan this week for long-term care.

He recently referenced the “Bull Moose progressive movement,” a nod to the politics of Teddy Roosevelt.

As Mr. Buttigieg, 37, looks to solidify his support in the remaining weeks before the Democratic primary season begins, he has found a wellspring of enthusiasm among a critical bloc of voters more frequently associated with Joseph R. Biden Jr.: older white Americans.
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
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O.K., Mayor: Why 37-Year-Old Pete Buttigieg Is Attracting Boomers (Original Post) brooklynite Nov 2019 OP
And Sanders gets the millennials dawg day Nov 2019 #1
I read his plan for seniors - IndyOp Nov 2019 #2
Before my father died, he had to go through daily, useless, exhausting femmedem Nov 2019 #3
Thank you. Sorry to hear what your parents went through IndyOp Nov 2019 #4
 

dawg day

(7,947 posts)
1. And Sanders gets the millennials
Fri Nov 29, 2019, 01:21 AM
Nov 2019

One thing Democrats aren't... predictable.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

IndyOp

(15,501 posts)
2. I read his plan for seniors -
Fri Nov 29, 2019, 09:04 AM
Nov 2019

When his dad had to be hospitalized in the months before he died, he and his mom talked to a social worker who explained “Medicaid spend down” - his mom and dad would have spend everything they had on his dad’s long-term care until they had so little left that he would qualify for Medicaid coverage for his long-term care. His mom would have to sell their home and spend down savings and would have very little left for herself after his dad passed. It turned out that Joseph died days later, but Buttigieg learned a bit about the realities of getting skilled nursing care for elders.

My husband and I learned about this when caring for his mom - who came to us as a widow, so spending down was not a problem. We were told however, that Medicaid beds in skilled nursing facilities are covered only if the patient is meeting “healthcare recovery goals” - they can stay in skilled nursing after a major health event only if they are getting better and have to return home when they meet the goals. This was not what I had in my mind when I thought about long-term care she might need at age 92 and 93. In our case, my mother-in-law was diagnosed with lung cancer (due to a lifetime of second-hand smoke exposure) and we moved her into our home where she passed within a month.

My understanding is that there is no long-term care available if you cannot pay privately and do not have long-term care insurance.

In any case, Buttigieg has a sensible plan that includes raising amount of money a family can have and still qualify for Medicaid coverage -and- providing a $15 minimum wage to direct care providers so they can make a living wage and will stay in these demanding jobs.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

femmedem

(8,188 posts)
3. Before my father died, he had to go through daily, useless, exhausting
Fri Nov 29, 2019, 11:02 AM
Nov 2019

tortuous rehab exercises in order to stay in a facility where he would be monitored closely, be close enough for my mother to visit him, and be covered by insurance.

As it turned out, he was dying of liver failure, but it was an unpredictable enough prognosis that he wasn't ready for hospice. Or nobody explained to my mother that he was ready for hospice until we barely had time to bring him home and have his defibrillator turned off. What they said was that he could potentially live several more years, although as it turned out he died within six weeks of his diagnosis.

I'm glad you were able to take care of your husband's mother in your home--you gave her a wonderful gift--but I agree, we have an awful system, even more so for people who don't have family like your mother-in-law had.

Thank you for sharing your experience.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

IndyOp

(15,501 posts)
4. Thank you. Sorry to hear what your parents went through
Fri Nov 29, 2019, 11:38 PM
Nov 2019

I have no idea how elders who don’t have family make it. It took me hours each year to go through the Medicare Part D options online to find the one that was best for her. Very few people in their 80’s or 90’s have the ability to do that on their own.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
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