Every fall the federal government releases its annual report on income, poverty, and health insurance coverage in the United States. This year it held good and bad news when it came to health insurance coverage.
The good news is that the number of people without health insurance decreased since 2007, from 47 million to 45.7 million. The bad news is that while the decline is good, 45.7 million Americans without coverage is still a staggering number of people going without basic health insurance coverage. Why the decline? It’s because of critical public insurance programs such as the State Children’s Health Insurance Plan (S-CHIP) and Medicaid. The number of people covered by these government health insurance plans increased to 83 million, up from 80.3 million in 2006.
However, the percentage of people covered by employment-based health insurance decreased slightly from 59.7 percent in 2006 to 59.3 percent in 2007. Without the public programs as a safety net for America’s working families and children, the number of uninsured would have risen again as it has over the past years.
This is important for advocates of insurance coverage for low-wage workers and their families, including direct care workers. Fewer employers are offering coverage to direct care workers, as PHI-Health Care for Health Care Workers recent report, The Invisible Care Gap: Caregivers Without Coverage (pdf), documents. Many workers live in households that depend on public benefits which have filled important gaps in coverage for those without employer insurance.
The need to guarantee affordable health coverage to all American families couldn’t be greater, and we can expect to hear more about it during this election season.
Carol Regan
National Director
Health Care for Health Care Workers
cregan@phinational.org
This week Pennsylvania legislators will decide whether or not to increase access to affordable health care for 250,000 Pennsylvanians – including many direct-care workers – who have no health insurance.
We need your help today. Senate Republicans have not yet agreed to the plan passed by the House and agreed to by the Governor. Time is running out. If agreement is not reached by Friday, October 3rd, the clock will run out on this legislative session and this opportunity will be lost.
What can you do? Call or email your State Senator and ask him/her to support PA-ABC – the bill that will provide affordable health insurance for thousands of Pennsylvanians. Remind your State Senator that the funding set aside for this bill can only be used for health care – nothing else. You can find the name and contact information for your State Senator at http://www.pasen.gov/ Just enter your zip code in the upper right-hand corner of the page.
CALL or EMAIL your State Senator today!
Ask your Senator to support the bill to provide affordable health insurance to thousands of Pennsylvanians
Background: Pennsylvania currently has a subsidized health insurance program called adultBasic – but right now enrollment is full and there is a long waiting list. The Pennsylvania House and Governor Rendell have proposed to increase enrollment in adultBasic to 250,000 individuals over the next five years. The premium amount would depend on your income. The money to fund this program will come from a combination of existing tobacco taxes, contributions by Blue Cross/Blue Shield health insurance companies, the $500 million surplus in an existing state health fund, and federal matching funds. No new taxes would be involved and this funding can only be used for health care.
As someone who works in long term care and provides care for hundreds and thousands of consumers, you know how crucial it is to have accessible and affordable health care. Perhaps you or someone you know has delayed treatment for a serious medical condition because of lack of health insurance. You can make a difference. We urge you to call or email your Senator today!
Health care reform is likely to be one of the top issues for the next President and Congress. Rising costs, declining quality, and millions without coverage are problems that can no longer be addressed by band aids, and business, labor, consumers and elected officials from both parties are saying “enough!”
So what are the presidential candidates talking about when they say they have a plan to fix our health care system?
Families USA, a is a national nonprofit, non-partisan organization dedicated to the achievement of high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans, and a voice for health care consumers for over 25 years has recently published a report that examines the key differences between the positions of Barack Obama and John McCain. If health care matters to you and you want more information about what the candidates stand for, this may be helpful for you: Comparing the Candidates’ Positions on Health Care.
And we’d like to hear what YOU think. Please, take a minute to let us know what health care means to you as a direct care worker; as a long-term care employer; as a consumer of long-term care services; or as an advocate or policymaker who cares about health reform. You can post a comment or email me directly at cregan@phinational.org.
Carol Regan
Director
PHI’s Health Care for Health Care Workers Campaign
cregan@phinational.org
Last week, the Pennsylvania Health Access Network, of which HCHCW-PA is member, held a rally in Harrisburg to call on the Pennsylvania State Senate to pass bills that would provide health insurance coverage to thousands of uninsured Pensylvania residents – including many direct-care workers.
Lori Michael, the owner of a home nursing care company in Schuylkill County and an advocate for HCHCW, cited unaffordable health coverage as a major business issue. Lori spoke about the impact the lack of affordable health insurance has on her ability to retain and recruit direct-care workers to serve the ever growing client base. “People in Pennsylvania want to age at home,” said Lori Michael, owner of Lori’s Angels in Schuylkill Haven. “We want to help them do that. We need help from state government.” The rally and Lori’s comments were covered in the Scranton Times and on PCN network.
PA State Senators are back in session and poised to take up health reform over the next two weeks. If you live in PA, take time now to call your take Senator and urge them to pass health care reform legislation this year. To find your Senator, visit http://www.pasen.gov/
As part of the Put Michigan People First Coalition, PHI-HCHCW received the President’s Recognition Award from the Michigan Association of Health Plans. This award was presented to us for being,” one of the key advocates for the “Put Michigan People First Coalition” which has made a positive impact on promoting consumer advocacy as well as accessibility and affordability to health care coverage in Michigan.”
As part of the Coalition, HCHCW has been working to make sure that the needs of direct-care workers are not forgotten in the individual market reform debate. The Coalition has and will continue to advocate that the following components be present in the legislation that is finally passed later this year:
- Continues the non-profit status of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and its social mission as Michigan’s insurer of last resort, accepting all who apply.
- Retains the six-month waiting period before insurance benefits begin for people with existing conditions and extends this concept for all health insurance companies in Michigan.
- Excludes the creation of a “high-risk” pool that would result in increased health insurance premium costs for those who are older and sicker.
- Protects consumers with appropriate regulatory oversight by the attorney general and the Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation (OFIR).
- Implements no significant changes to Blue Cross’ rating methodology that would include the consideration of health status.
If you would like to write your legislator about this issue, please contact Tameshia Bridges at (517) 372-8310 or tbridges@phinational.org for more information.
Tameshia Bridges
Michigan Senior Workforce Advocate
PHI/HCHCW
tbridges@phinational.org
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