The emerging crisis in the health and long term care workforce was up for discussion on August 20, when members of the Iowa Legislature and the Iowa Congressional delegation held a Healthcare Roundtable in Des Moines. The focus of the roundtable was coordinating state and federal efforts to expanding health care coverage.
I was there along with Di Findley of the Iowa CareGivers Association (ICA), Iowa’s HCHCW partner, to talk to the elected officials about the health coverage needs of direct-care workers. We also talked about the need to give attention to the crisis in the direct-care workforce. As a result of the conversations, ICA has scheduled follow-up meetings with several elected leaders in attendance.
Other topics disucssed include ERISA rules, Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement levels, S-Chip expansion, the need for federal electronic medical record standards, approaches to cost containment, medical homes, and chronic disease management.
John Hale
Policy Director, Iowa CareGivers Association
hale_johnd@msn.com
