he June 18 meeting between U.S. Senator Robert Casey Jr. and a standing-room-only roomful of direct-care workers arranged by hospice aide Brenda Nachtway at her Pennsylvania hospital was a resounding success. “He said he learned a lot and was going to go back to Washington and see what he could do to make things better,” says Nachtway.
Approximately 100 people, most of them CNAs, home health aides, personal care attendants, and other direct-care workers, gathered at Evangelical Community Hospital in Lewisburg in answer to the senator’s request for an informational session. Attendees told the senator about having no health insurance for themselves or their families, having too little time to spend with the people they assist because of staffing shortages, and being forced to leave the work they loved because of on-the-job injuries, Nachtway reports. They also talked about the inadequate pay and training.
“The meeting for an invaluable way for Senator Casey to hear the real stories of workers who go without healthcare” says HCHCW National Campaign Manager Allison Wagner, who attended the meeting. “The support for Senator Casey and other elected officials is crucial to ensuring that we have a quality long term care system in the future. Quality care starts by making sure that a direct care job is a quality jobs. We are fortunate that Senator Casey understands and is willing to try to make improvements.”
After listening to their concerns, the senator thanked the workers for the crucial role they play. He also talked “quite a bit,” says Nachtway, about his gratitude toward the direct-care workers who assisted his father toward the end of his life. “I think, in the end, one of the real solutions to this is to change how we think about these workers,” the senator is quoted as saying in a Daily Item article. “Their status has to be elevated…. It is a profession and it should be treated as a profession.”
On Tuesday, Representative Todd Eachus (D-Luzerne) stood with his fellow House Democrats at a press conference to reinforce his support for Governor Rendell’s “Prescription for Pennsylvania.”
“There is a shared responsibility for every stakeholder in the healthcare system. Democrats in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives are committed to providing affordable healthcare to all citizens of the Commonwealth,” said Eachus.
Majority Whip Keith McCall (D-Carbon) declared, “Pennsylvanians consistently cite healthcare reform among their top priorities for policy makers to confront, because they are experiencing the problem firsthand. House Democrats are committed to moving on solutions that require legislative action.”
On Monday June, 18 House Democrats are expected to introduce legislation that will dramatically reduce the instance of hospital-acquired infections in Pennsylvania and improve the overall quality of care in Pennsylvania’s healthcare system.
In 2006, hospital-acquired infections contributed to the death of 2500 Pennsylvanians and every day, 2 to 4 people die due to preventable error in Pennsylvania hospitals. Governor Rendell’s “Prescription for Pennsylvania” takes a hard stance on preventable hospital error and is committed to assisting the hospitals in controlling and eventually eliminating the needless tragedy of hospital-acquired infections. With the “Prescription for Pennsylvania,” Representative Anthony DeLuca (D–Allegheny) explains, “We will save money, and most of all, we will save lives.”
Another key piece of “Prescription for Pennsylvania” legislation is slated to be considered by the Senate next week. This past week, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved sending the “Comprehensive Clean Indoor Air Bill” to the Senate for a vote. The broad smoking ban has some people all lit up, but senators are discussing amendments to make allowances for casinos, cigar bars, and other social clubs. Despite some objections, thirty-two senators are already on record in support of the bill.
Read the full press release.
At the same time the House Democrats are moving to help pass the “Prescription for Pennsylvania,” House Republicans have introduced their own health care plan – inventively titled the “Real Prescription for Pennsylvania.”
HCHCW staff participated in an April workgroup to provide input into the creation of a board that would help administer the Michigan First Health Care Plan. Called the MI-HEART Exchange, the board would run the program, operating as an independent body within the Department of Community Health.
The workgroup, which was chaired by Senator Tom George (R-Kalamazoo), analyzed SB 278 (pdf), the law that would create the exchange. The group included legislative staff, physicians, and representatives from health plans, insurance companies, and hospitals. HCHCW was the only advocacy organization represented.
HCHCW staff provided detailed comments (pdf) and recommendations (pdf) on the draft legislation. As a result, the following HCHCW recommendations were included in the new draft:
- Appointing a representative from a low-income health care advocacy organization to the Exchange board.
- Adopting a phased-in approach, offering coverage to individuals for six months before including small businesses, to allow the plan administrators time to address any challenges that may surface.
- Establishing criteria for the selection of health plans that participate in the program.
- Allowing covered individuals whose work hours are decreased to retain their coverage. This protects home care workers, whose fluctuating hours often leave them with too little work in a given month to qualify for most health insurance plans.
SB 278 S-2 was passed out of the Senate Health Policy Committee in early May and is awaiting a vote by the full Senate.
Recent Comments