The Michigan HCHCW Campaign has been involved in the individual market reform debate since HB 5282 (pdf) and HB 5283 (pdf) were introduced in the Michigan House. The bills would change how Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) would operate in the individual health insurance market, allowing BCBSM to:
- set premium rates based on age and health status;
- limit the ability of consumers and the Attorney General to challenge rate rate increases; and
- establish a high-risk health pool.
Michigan HCHCW looked at whether this legislation would make health insurance more affordable or accessible for direct-care workers. Our concern is that it would reduce access and increase cost and alter Blue Cross Blue Shield’s mission as the insurer of last resort in Michigan.
Continue reading ‘HCHCW Joins Individual Market Reform Debate in Michigan’
Download the report (pdf 1.9MB)
Report Shows High Rates of Injury, Inadequate Health Coverage May Result in Caregiver Shortage
As part of National Women’s Health Week, PHI’ Health Care for Health Care Workers Campaign will deliver a sobering report -– Invisible Care Gap: Caregivers without Health Coverage — on the health insurance status of our nation’s caregiving workforce, 90% of which is female. Based on the most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics, the report reveals that:
- Nurse aides have the highest rates of workplace injuries and illnesses in the country, making it America’s most dangerous job.
- Nearly 30% of direct-care workers have no health insurance coverage, twice the rate of the general population.
- The country’s fastest-growing workforce—jobs providing in-home personal care services—is the least likely to have health coverage.
- Direct-care wages are so low (median hourly wage of $9.56/hr) that nearly 30% live in or near poverty and few can afford high cost of insurance premiums.
Update: A podcast is now available on this topic.
Caregiving is women’s work.
It is with that simple statement in mind that I went to the Raising Women’s Voices Conference last month, sponsored by the Avery Institute, Merger Watch, and the National Women’s Health Network.
I was invited to participate on the opening plenary panel to discuss voices that are traditionally left out of health care reform discussions. I talked about direct-care workers — and about Health Care for Health Care Workers and the broader work of PHI.
The conference brought together women’s health advocates, providers, and women in general to talk about health care issues and shape a women’s agenda for health care reform. There were the usual PowerPoint presentations and policy recommendations, but the way the organizers encouraged presenters to tell our stories made it clear from the start that this was no ordinary conference. Raising Women’s Voices lived up to its name, honoring the power of women’s voices and experiences as consumers and providers.
Continue reading ‘Caregiving is Women’s Work’
Last month, the Pennsylvania House passed a bill (pdf) that would make affordable health care accessible to more Pennsylvanians, including thousands of direct-care workers. The vote was 118-81.
Tracy Lawless and Simone Baer of PHI’s Health Care for Health Care Workers campaign have worked diligently over the past year, teaming with the state’s health care reform coalitions and people who have a stake in our long-term care system, to educate advocates and legislators on this issue. In the week before the House vote they jumped into even higher gear, making a tremendous grassroots push to reach direct-care workers and employers statewide, as well as general health care advocates in the western part of PA. Continue reading ‘PA House Passes Health Care Bill’
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