Archive for ‘Government’

Health care reform still holds promise for direct care workers

Posted by David Ward on February 26th, 2010 at 3:41 pm | No Comments »

David Ward

Is health care reform dead?
I can see why some people might think so.  The Election of Scott Brown in Massachusetts ended the Democrats’ 60-40 “filibuster proof” majority in the Senate, which means at least one Republican must vote with the Democrats in order for the Senate to overcome delay tactics by the bill’s opposition.

Although the Democrats are unlikely to find that one Republican vote, health care reform is still alive.  Since the Senate has already passed a health care reform bill, the House of Representatives could pass the Senate bill and incorporate elements of the House reform bill through a process called budget reconciliation, which requires only a simple majority vote and limits the number of hours of debate.

How health care reform impacts direct care workers

If uninsured direct care workers obtain coverage at the same rate as the entire uninsured population, the Senate bill would ensure coverage for hundreds of thousands of uninsured direct care workers. This is a very conservative estimate and the number of uninsured direct care workers would likely be higher as a result of some workers being covered under the Medicaid expansion and other subsidies for low- and middle-income families. In addition to covering many of the uninsured, these subsidies will relieve some of the financial pressures caused by health care costs for many direct care workers and their families.

What’s next?

House and Senate Democrats are seeking agreement on a reconciliation bill.  If they succeed in doing that, the House will likely pass the Senate Health Care Reform bill and then pass the reconciliation measures.  If these negotiations fail, I would like to think that the House would pass the Senate bill anyway – but it is not clear whether House Democrats will try to pursue this option.

On February 25, President Obama hosted a summit with leaders from both parties in an attempt to renew bipartisan negotiations, but the effort fell flat according to The New York Times.  President Obama said he plans to move forward on health care reform without Republican support.

Additional Resources: See PHI’s blog for more on the summit and Health Care for America Now for more on the campaign for health care reform.

Update 3/8/10: Read the Direct Care Alliance’s letter to U.S. House leadership urging the passage of health care reform.

Independent living & disability rights advocate takes up the case of direct care workers

Posted by Leonila Vega on February 25th, 2010 at 1:31 pm | No Comments »

On a recent trip to Maine, I sat down with Representative Matthew Peterson of District 92 to discuss his work on behalf of direct care workers in the state.  He has worked in direct care for years, and is currently an Independent Living Specialist at Alpha One, a center for independent living. As an elected official, Matthew is able to advocate for change in direct care and believes it is an essential and valuable workforce. It is inspiring and encouraging  – Matthew has linked his personal passion and commitment to independent living  to advocating the need for a well-trained, respected and well-paid direct care workforce.   Watch the brief interview I was able to record with Matthew, below. 

Imagine if more disability leaders and independent living advocates joined the Direct Care Alliance  and made their voices heard on the issues that matter.  What if, like Matthew, you could advance change in your community, your state, and eventually, across the country?  Matthew shows that we can be heard. More importantly, Matthew shows that independent living and well trained, respected, well paid direct care workers are essential to autonmy and quality of services and supports for people living with disabilities.  Most of the issues Matthew discussed in the video apply to us all. There are more than 22,000 direct care workers in Maine, and despite the fiscal crisis Matthew has kept issues like livable wage and appropriate titles on the docket. He believes that there is no better advocate than the workers and consumers, and I couldn’t agree more.

Remember – we don’t have to be elected officials to have an impact. By being involved with the Direct Care Alliance and sharing your passion with others, you can advance change.  I hope you’ll continue working with me and with your colleagues across the country to make your voices heard.

Worker Rights Champion Confirmed as Solicitor for the U.S. DOL

Posted by David Ward on February 16th, 2010 at 6:58 pm | 1 Comment »

Patricia Smith

We are excited to report that the Senate confirmed President Obama’s appointment of M. Patricia Smith as Solicitor of the U.S. Department of Labor.

This is great news for direct care workers because Ms. Smith has a proven track record as a champion for American workers. In her new position, she will be responsible for enforcing national labor laws. The DCA is hopeful that she will make the extension of federal wage and overtime protections to home care workers a top priority once she takes office.

Related material

The New York Times story on Patricia Smith’s appointment

Support Melanie’s March for Health Care Reform

Posted by Elise Nakhnikian on February 16th, 2010 at 6:47 pm | No Comments »

Melanie Shouse

A group of Pennsylvanians is marching the 135 miles from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C., over the next week. They are going to call on Congress to support health care reform, and they want you to join them.

It may be a little late to join the march from start to finish, since it starts on February 17, but the leaders of Melanie’s March are also looking for people to join them at events along the way in cities like Newark, Wilmington, and Baltimore; donate to support the cause; or march the last mile with them to Capitol Hill. Continue reading »

Washington State to Vote on Career Path for Home Care Workers

Posted by Linda Lee on February 16th, 2010 at 6:07 pm | 4 Comments »

Linda Lee

The Washington state legislature is finally starting to support the work we home care workers and our allies have been doing to establish a professional career path for direct care workers in long-term care. On Saturday, a bill to allow home care workers to more easily become nursing assistants was passed out of committee. It will soon be voted on by the state Senate.

The House bill, HB 2766, and the Senate’s, SB 6582, are nearly identical. A third bill, SB 6662, is slightly different and more inclusive of other types of workers. None of the three have funding attached, so they will only be effective if my union, SEIU 775, can negotiate money for our joint Training Trust.

The cynical part of me says it’s about time the legislature recognized the work we home care aides have been doing to improve the quality of care we provide, but the optimistic part is happy for this good news. Continue reading »

Maine Tables Report on Improving Home- and Community-Based Care

Posted by Helen Hanson on February 11th, 2010 at 4:45 pm | 3 Comments »

Helen Hanson

Well, our report is complete, but it has not yet been presented to the Legislature.

As you know if you’ve been reading this blog, I am part of a team that was appointed by the state of Maine to recommend ways that the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee could streamline long-term care service delivery, address equalities in the services provided, and hopefully gain some cost savings, which can be passed on to workers in the form of livable wages and benefits such as paid time off and health care coverage. We finished our work in early January, and the report was supposed to be released later that month.

But I just learned that the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has put it on the back burner instead. Continue reading »

Join the DCA in Answering the President’s Call to Action

Posted by David Ward on February 1st, 2010 at 7:28 pm | 1 Comment »

President Obama

In his State of the Union Address last Tuesday, President Obama reiterated that his Administration’s #1 priority is to create more jobs and get our economy back on track. He also challenged Congress: “Don’t walk away from health care reform.”

The DCA applauds the President’s call to action. With more than a quarter of all direct care workers lacking health insurance, making quality health care affordable for all Americans remains our top priority. We’re also working to get direct care on the job creation agenda, so some of that funding will go to improve the quality of direct care jobs, ensuring that we can satisfy consumer demand for a stable, well-qualified workforce.

Direct care jobs are expected to be among the fastest growing occupations in the USA over the next decade. That means our nation is facing a crucial choice. We can continue to tolerate low-paying, poor-quality jobs that swell the ranks of the working poor and lead to poor care. Or we can invest in the direct care workforce. Continue reading »

Maine Makes Progress toward Improving Home Care Delivery

Posted by Helen Hanson on January 15th, 2010 at 12:12 pm | No Comments »

A planning session with (L to R) Vicki Purgavie of Home Care & Hospice Alliance, Diana Scully and Doreen McDaniel from DHHS, me, Leo Delicata of Legal Services for the Elderly, and Louise Olsen from the University of Southern Maine, Muskie School

As I explained in an earlier blog post, Maine is putting four pieces of legislation that would affect the home- and community-based part of Maine’s long-term care system — including its direct care workers – through a LEAN process. The aim of the process is to make service delivery more efficient, address inequalities in the services provided, and hopefully gain some cost savings, which can be passed on to workers in the form of livable wages and benefits such as paid time off and health care coverage. We’ve made a lot of progress toward that goal in the last few weeks.

Two direct care workers, Julie Moulton and I, were appointed to the core team that will lead the process of coming up with a plan for a streamlined system. Another direct care worker, Cathy Bouchard, became an alternate, stepping up when Julie was unable to stay on the team. I am also part of a Direct Care Workers’ Task Force that was put together to recommend changes for the issues directly affecting home care workers. This is the first time workers have been involved at this high a level of working on system change in Maine. Continue reading »

Don’t Let Them Forget Why Direct Care Workers Need Health Care Reform

Posted by Tracy Dudzinski on January 14th, 2010 at 10:40 am | 5 Comments »

Tracy Dudzinski

Embarrassed. Less than. Not worthy. Angry. Unimportant.

These are a few of the words that describe how I feel about having to rely on a state-sponsored health insurance plan for my family’s insurance coverage, though I work full time for a home care agency. I just can’t afford my employer’s health insurance plan on a direct care worker’s wages.

If I am helping care for our nation’s most vulnerable, why can’t I afford to buy into my employer’s health insurance plan for my family?

Don’t get me wrong – I’m very grateful for the state-sponsored insurance. I have three insulin-dependent diabetics in my family, so without the help of Wisconsin’s Medicaid plan, we’d have to choose between medication and food or gas. And who knows how we’d pay for doctor visits and hospital stays?

We pay a monthly premium and have co-pays for services, but I can afford BadgerCare’s rates. I just can’t afford my employer’s. That means I’m stuck in a vicious cycle: I can’t afford to get much of a raise, because if I made a little more than I’m making now, we wouldn’t qualify for the state health care plan. I’d have to buy into my employer’s plan, but a few dollars more a week wouldn’t be enough to make it affordable. So I’d be stuck with that awful choice — medicine or food? I might even have to join the millions of people who have gone bankrupt because of high medical bills. Continue reading »

Nearing the End Zone on Health Care Reform

Posted by David Ward on December 30th, 2009 at 6:46 pm | No Comments »

David Ward

The Direct Care Alliance thanks the Senate for passing its version of the health care reform bill, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, on Christmas Eve.

This is another big step toward ensuring that health care is affordable for millions of currently uninsured Americans – including hundreds of thousands of direct care workers. As the advocacy voice for more than three million direct care workers, we are excited to see our government so close to guaranteeing affordable, quality health insurance for all Americans.

Both the House and Senate are now working to merge the two bills. Once both chambers of Congress pass a single health care reform bill, the President will either sign the bill into law or veto the bill and return it to Congress.

We are also grateful to all of our constituents and allies who have already contacted their representatives to urge them to pass this bill. Please continue to tell your representatives why health care reform matters to you and why it is important that they pass the final version of the bill. To locate your senators and members of Congress, call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121. 

David Ward
Director of Policy and Planning
Direct Care Alliance

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