Monthly Archive for November, 2008

Up to 80% of Americans agree that major reforms are needed. And the election on November 4th showed strong support for health care reform — a major emphasis in the Obama campaign.

One thing we must remember is that health care reform is NOT a partisan issue. There is broad public support for fixing health care sooner rather than later. Though exit polls showed health care behind the economy as a key voter issue, further probing also showed that voters consider health care the top personal economic issue they face.

What is President-elect Obama’s plan? In general, he has proposed a plan for universal coverage that would build on the current system of mixed private and public group insurance. Some of its features are similar to the universal coverage law now being implemented in Massachusetts. All employers, other than small businesses, would be required to offer health insurance to their employees or contribute to the cost.

Eligibility for Medicaid and SCHIP would be expanded. Small businesses, self-employed individuals, and people who do not have coverage through their employers, Medicaid, or SCHIP would be able to purchase a plan through a new insurance market called the National Health Insurance Exchange. Through this exchange, people could choose a private plan or a new public plan similar to that offered to federal employees and members of Congress.

Insurance carriers would be required to offer plans regardless of pre-existing conditions and could not charge premiums based on health status. Small businesses would be eligible for tax credits to offset their premium costs and individuals would be eligible for income-based premium subsidies.

This video from Obama’s campaign provides a good summary of his plan:

For a detailed explanation of his health plan, go to the Obama campaign website or see the Obama-Biden plan at change.gov.

In the weeks to come, we’re anticipating increased discussion about issues around health care reform as Congress members and a wide range of stakeholders begin to weigh in and work on building a consensus for change.

Carol Regan, Director
HCHCW
cregan@phinational.org

The National Nursing Assistant Survey (NNAS) is the first national study of nursing assistants working in nursing facilities in the United States. About 5,000 nursing assistants were chosen for the NNAS from about 800 nursing homes across the country.  NNAS was conducted as a telephone interview with a sample of workers who provide care to nursing home residents.

The survey included information on whether workers plan to continue working in their present positions and what factors affect their decisions, including job satisfaction, nature of the work environment, training, advancement opportunities, benefits, working conditions, and personal or family demands.

HCHCW reviewed tables[1] on health insurance benefits available on the website and found the following:

• Nearly 16% of nursing assistants have no insurance coverage.
• 89.7% were offered health insurance from their employer; 9.0% were not (1.4% unknown)
• Nearly one in four nurse aides (23.2%) are receiving some type of government health plan (Medicare, Medicaid or other)
• The offering of coverage varied slightly by the affiliation of facility – 91.2% working for chains were offered coverage compared to 87.9% working for independent facilities, and by ownership – 87.3% of those working for proprietary homes, 92.7% working for voluntary non-profit homes and 94.0% working for government or other facilities.
• For all facilities, only 54% of those offered coverage enrolled in the coverage. Enrollment was higher in the northeast – 67.4%, for those working for independent facilities – 59.9%, and for those working for voluntary non-profit and government facilities – 63.1% and 71.8% respectively.

In-depth analyses on different topics are underway by researchers and we can expect to report on those studies in the months ahead.

Carol Regan
Director
Health Care for Health Care Workers
cregan@phinational.org

Fears that businesses in Massachusetts would stop providing employee health insurance because publicly subsidized insurance is available are unfounded, according to a new report from the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. Continue reading ‘MA Businesses Prove Critics Wrong on Health Care Reform’