Monthly Archive for September, 2009

HealthReform.gov has published state-by-state reports about how health reform will benefit you and others living in your state.

The new fact sheets include information about the uninsurance rate, who will be helped by reform, and how reform will help you.

Visist www.healthreform.gov to access information about your state.

Allison Lee
National Campaign Manager
HCHCW
alee@phinational.org

I know that most of us can’t visit our members of Congress in Washington, or drop by their local state office to add our voices in support of health reform. But we can sign a petition to let them know we expect real change in our health care system.

Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports, has a simple petition that will be delivered to our own lawmakers in their district offices urging them to give all Americans access to affordable, reliable health coverage. Members of Congress give themselves good health coverage – it’s time they hear from those who don’t get the same opportunity!

On behalf of the hundreds of thousands of direct-care workers who lack coverage, please add your name to this petition. Just go to www.PrescriptionforChange.org and add your signature so you can get get heard in support of health reform.

Thank you!

Allison Lee
National Campaign Manager
HCHCW
alee@phinational.org

Bill Woody

“As a home care employer in Montana and seven other states I know that providing an adequate compensation package that includes affordable health insurance is a critical component in attracting and keeping high quality workers – the kind of workers that all of us would want to help us should we find ourselves in need of care,” wrote Bill Woody,  President and CEO of Consumer Direct Personal Care and Nightingale Nursing, in a guest column published in the Montana Missoulian over the weekend.

“Unfortunately, all too often the workers that so many of us depend on for care are without insurance themselves and have no way to pay for their own medical services should they need them.” Continue reading ‘Reform Must Work for Long-Term Care Employers’

Cindy Ramer poses for The Courier with a picture of her and her late husband, Jim Ramer, at her home in Denver on Sept. 4, 2009. (RICK TIBBOTT / Courier Staff Photographer)

Cindy Ramer, a certified nursing assistant in Denver, Iowa,  “lives a precarious existence for one simple reason: for more than 20 years she has not been able to afford quality health care, “ wrote the Waterloo Courier in a profile on Ramer published earlier this month.

Ramer, who declared bankruptcy due to medical debt from her late husband’s illness, lives in constant fear of getting sick.  “I worry about it,” she said. “I hope my health doesn’t get bad.”

Ramer works nights and weekends as a CNA taking care of those whose health requires that they need Ramer’s care.  Yet she goes without health insurance herself because her employer has a difficult time finding health insurance that is affordable for both the employees and employer.

Becky Lohrbach, Ramer’s employer’s benefits manager, explained, “It becomes very difficult to be able to meet the participation requirements that the insurance companies have set up to even have a group plan,” she said.  Many of the workers at Ramer’s agency either use their spouses insurance or are eligible for Medicaid or Medicare.

It is not that Ramer doesn’t want insurance or is unwilling to pay for it. She simple wants to be able to buy insurance that she can afford and that will cover her medical needs.  Until that day arrives, Ramer is dedicated to telling her story and advocating for state and federal reform that works for direct-care workers.

• Read the full article in the Waterloo Courier
• Read Cindy’s post on fighting distortions about health care reform

Allison Lee
National Campaign Manager
HCHCW
alee@phinational.org

Looking for more information on national reform?  Visit HCHCW’s Health Reform Resource Center for legislation, fact sheets, and organizations.  Get armed with the facts and spread the word that Congress must take action this fall.

Helen Hanson

“I firmly believe: what is good for direct-care workers is good for America,” said Helen Hanson, a Maine direct-care worker who had a guest column on health care reform published recently by the Portland Press Herald.

In the editorial, Helen shares her personal story of living without affordable, comprehensive coverage.  “To buy a health care plan that would protect us from bankruptcy we paid $3,200 per year, with a $10,000 deductible per family member, Hanson explained.

Hanson, loving her direct-care job, always feared that she would need to leave it to find employment that offered health insurance if she became ill.  Almost 30% of the direct-care workforce faces the same problem.

“That’s why health reform matters so much to direct-care workers – and those they assist,” Hanson wrote. “A health care system that denies care to workers who are providing daily health-related services to millions is a system that needs fundamental change.”

Hanson urged Congress to pass reform that is:

• Accessible to all individuals regardless of their family status, their employment status, or how many hours they work.
• Affordable for workers, their families, and their employers.
• Adequate, with a full range of benefits to protect older workers, those with chronic health conditions, and injured workers.
• And the coverage should be simple, easy to understand and enroll in.
• A public option, along with a regulated insurance exchange, is essential to meet these goals.

Congress reconvenes today and tackling national health care reform continues to be a primary activity.

Allison Lee
National Campaign Manager
HCHCW
alee@phinational.org

In a significant victory for the fight for health care coverage for direct-care workers in Maine, the Governor’s office announced last week that the state has been awarded a grant of $8.5 million to provide expanded coverage to 3,500 Maine residents — including direct-care workers.

The grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will provide $8.5 million a year for up to five years for the state to expand the Dirigo health program to part-time, seasonal, and direct-care workers.

Starting in 2010, workers employed by firms that offer health insurance and have over 50 employees will be eligible to receive vouchers to make their employer-sponsored insurance more affordable.  The grant also will allow the Dirigo program to develop a special coverage product for workers who are not offered employer-sponsored coverage. Continue reading ‘Maine Grant Brings Coverage to Direct-Care Workers’

…when no direct-care worker has to worry about staying in a job they love because it doesn’t offer health insurance

…when no direct-care worker has to worry about managing their diabetes or any other illness because their health plan doesn’t cover prescription drugs.

….when all direct care workers can be rewarded for the work they do caring for our family members by ensuring that they too have good health care.

That day can be now.  Congress is back in session and will have the chance to reform our health care system by enacting legislation that will provide quality, affordable health care to all Americans, while also guaranteeing choice of insurance plans and doctors for consumers, reining in costs for employers, families and government; and making an investment in the future by increasing support for the services provided by direct care workers. 

Make this a reality by taking time to call your Representative and Senator today and ask them to pass legislation that will provide affordable, quality health care for all.

Call 1-800-828-0498 and you’ll be connected to the right office.  Take the time today to make that call.

Allison Lee
National Campaign Manager
HCHCW
alee@phinational.org