State of the Union Address Highlights Importance of HCBS

Last week, the President delivered the State of the Union Address to Congress and directly addressed home and community-based services. During his speech, President Biden reiterated his support for home and community-based services by saying “Let’s…give more breathing room to millions of family caregivers looking after their loved ones…get seniors and people with disabilities the home care services they need and support the workers who are doing God’s work.”

The President has often used his platform to promote his support for investing in care for aging Americans and people with disabilities—in the past promoting a $400 billion investment in the Medicaid Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) program through his American Jobs Plan. While that plan was initially incorporated into legislation through the Build Back Better Act in 2021, it did not ultimately come to fruition due to Senate negotiations that stripped the HCBS provision out of the budget reconciliation bill.

ANCOR was thrilled to hear the President reiterate his support for home and community-based services last week. While the ability to pass legislation to invest much-needed funding into the Medicaid HCBS program is much more challenging this Congress, ANCOR is encouraged to have supporters in both the White House as well as many Congressional offices. Continuing to raise the importance of the HCBS program to the lives of millions across the country is essential to ensuring there will be a path forward for future legislation.