How Biden’s Proposed Infrastructure Plan Would Boost Wellness in Homes
President Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure plan would enhance the wellness for thousands of homes across the country, advancing the availability of safe and healthy homes, says Forbes. Affordable housing would be given the chance to offer quality indoor air and water, plumbing, HVAC, and more, says Bob Simpson of the Center for Active Design. Although the plan does not explicitly state that funding will go toward improving ventilation in residential buildings, Simpson says it's not out of the question. Building and rehabbing homes for low- and middle-income families would alleviate the issue of overcrowding in low-income housing, which is a health risk in itself, says Forbes.
Accessibility
The plan also references $40 billion to “address critical life-safety concerns” and “mitigate imminent hazards to residents,” noting that these improvements will benefit people with disabilities, pointing to the possibility of accessibility features being included in the bill.
As Sarah L. Szanton, director of the Center for Innovative Care in Aging at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, has proved with the CAPABLE program that she helped create, making homes and apartments safer and more accessible for seniors improves their lives and pays for itself over time with Medicare and Medicaid savings. Whether it’s her program or one like it that also recommends and installs accessibility features, providing for this through federal funding would allow “older adults to be able to age with dignity and independence” and “be able to bathe themselves, cook for themselves, get dressed with dignity and autonomy,” Szanton says.