Leonila Vega
The Direct Care Alliance is working hard to ensure that the voices of workers and their allies are heard in the debate on health care reform.
As you already know if you’ve been reading our newsletter or blog, we went to Washington last month to talk to legislators and key committee staff. We asked them to make sure their health care reform bill includes health care coverage for all direct care workers. We also told them that we can’t have true health care reform without labor protections, training, career advancement opportunities and other job improvements for direct care workers.
We’ve also sent letters to President Obama (PDF) and U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, (PDF) asking them to support direct care workers and improve direct care jobs.
Our latest letter (PDF) went out to the Senate Finance Committee on May 15. It was a response to a call for comments from the committee, which wants input on the health care reform legislation it is working on. The committee wanted input on two documents describing policy options: Expanding Health Care Coverage: Proposals to Provide Affordable Coverage to All Americans (PDF) and Transforming the Health Care Delivery System: Proposals to Improve Patient Care and Reduce Health Care Costs (PDF).
Our letter explains why there can’t be true health care reform until we reform direct care jobs, ensuring that all direct care workers have sufficient wages, health care coverage, training and career advancement opportunities as well as basic labor protections. We also included a copy of the DCA’s health care reform principles and Paula Spann’s recent cover story about home care workers in the Washington Post’s magazine section.
We consider it a national priority for the President and both houses of Congress to ensure that health care reform include health care and job reforms for the over three million direct care workers caring for our elders and people with disabilities. We’ll keep working to make sure they hear the message — and you can help.
If you haven’t already signed onto our electronic letter to Secretary Solis, visit our Legislative Action Center and send on a copy now. It will only take a minute of your time, and it will help our elected representatives understand that there are millions of Americans who understand the urgent need for these changes.
Leonila Vega, Esq.
Executive Director
Direct Care Alliance
