AARP Hearing Center
As part of its continuing efforts to stay well informed about the U.S. 50-plus population, AARP fielded a short omnibus survey in October 2024 focused on their views related to a legislative proposal designed to provide support to working family caregivers as well as the types of benefits that Medicare currently offers.
When asked about a bipartisan proposal in Congress that would provide employed family caregivers with a tax credit up to $5,000, based on how much they spend to care for an older family member, U.S. adults age 50 or older expressed strong support for such a measure. Nine in 10 (90 percent) said they would strongly or somewhat support the proposal, with little variation across age groups (50–64: 91 percent; 65-plus: 90 percent).
There was also consistent support for the proposal between men and women (90 percent and 92 percent, respectively) as well as across racial/ethnic groups (Black: 92%, Hispanic: 91%, and white: 91% strongly or somewhat supporting).
Support is high for Medicare to help cover the costs of providing care related to assistance with activities of daily living, but support for paying a small increase in premiums for in-home care is less so.
More than nine in 10 (91 percent) U.S. adults 50 and older express support for Medicare to help cover the costs of providing care to enrollees who need assistance with their activities of daily living (ADLs: such as bathing, dressing, or eating). Moreover, six in 10 (61 percent) adults 50 and older say they would be willing to pay a small increase in Medicare premiums for access to in-home care, yet nearly one-quarter (23 percent) are unsure.
Although support is uniformly high regardless of political ideology (90 percent of conservatives, 90 percent of moderates, and 96 percent of liberals), when it comes to paying a small increase in Medicare premiums for access to in-home care, support varies notably. More than eight in 10 (82 percent) liberals say they would support the premium increase compared to two-thirds (65 percent) of moderates, and nearly half (46 percent) of conservatives who say the same.
Expanding Medicare to cover home care aide services is the preference of midlife and older adults.
When asked to express their preference between two statements, by a margin of three to one (75 percent vs. 24 percent), U.S. adults 50 and older say they would like to see Medicare expand to cover home care aide services rather than continue to focus on its current coverage. Expanding Medicare to cover home care aide services is the preference for both age groups and genders.
Although majorities of midlife and older adults across the ideological spectrum prefer the statement about expanding Medicare, there are significant differences across the three groups. Nearly nine in 10 (88 percent) liberals select the statement with Medicare expanding to cover home care aide services compared to three-quarters (75 percent) of moderates and two-thirds (65 percent) of conservatives who do so.
Support is high for the inclusion of dental, vision, and hearing coverage in Traditional Medicare, with limited variation by political ideology.
Nearly nine in 10 (86 percent) adults 50 and older support the inclusion of dental, vision, and hearing coverage in Traditional Medicare, with no variation by age group.
Just as with the statements about expanding Medicare to cover home care assistance, majorities across political ideologies support adding dental, vision, and hearing coverage to Traditional Medicare, albeit to varying degrees. More than nine in 10 liberals and moderates support adding dental, vision, and hearing coverage to Traditional Medicare (93 percent and 91 percent, respectively) compared with three-quarters (74 percent) of conservatives.
Methodology
Interviews were conducted from October 17–22, 2024, among a sample of n=1,002 adults age 50 or older using NORC’s Foresight 50+ panel. Funded and operated by NORC at the University of Chicago, Foresight 50+ is a probability-based panel designed to be representative of the U.S. household population age 50 or older. Interviews were conducted online and via telephone. All data are weighted to the latest Current Population Survey (CPS) benchmarks developed by the U.S. Census Bureau and are balanced by gender, age, education, race/ethnicity and region.
For more information, please contact Teresa A. Keenan at tkeenan@aarp.org. For media inquiries, contact External Relations at media@aarp.org.
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