Archive for the 'Vermont' Category

According to the newly-released 2008 Vermont Household Health Insurance Survey, the cost of health insurance premiums is the single biggest barrier to obtaining coverage.  Two-thirds of the uninsured who responded to the survey said cost was the only reason they didn’t have coverage, and another 21 percent said cost was one of the main reasons.

Of the 47,000 uninsured in 2008, the study found that half would be eligible for state-sponsored (and subsidized) health insurance in Vermont.   The study also found that 78% of the uninsured in Vermont have jobs, and most work full time.  Half of these adults earn less than $12 per hour.  Among uninsured adults, only one-quarter worked for employers that offered health insurance.

The report noted that the rate of “employer-offered” health insurance has declined from 30% in 2005 to 25% in 2008, a decrease of 17% in four years .

Overall, the percentage of uninsured Vermonters has declined by 14,000 since 2005, largely because of the more than 9,300 Vermonters who have signed up for health insurance through Catamount Health (as of November 2008), a state-subsided private health insurance program.

This data clearly shows that low-income working Vermonters, including many direct-care workers, are foregoing health coverage because they do not have extra money—after paying for housing, food, fuel, and child care—to pay for monthly health insurance premiums, and many have lost the option of employer-sponsored health insurance.  Federal and state health care reform efforts will need to pay special attention to defining what “affordability” means especially to low- income workers.  A public option and adequate subsidies will be extremely important to making sure direct-care workers and other low-income workers have coverage that is affordable.

The study was highlighted by both the Burlington Free Press and Vermont Public Radio.

Alex Olins
Northern New England Policy Director
PHI
aolins@phinational.org

HCHCW Vermont joined with the Vermont Campaign for Health Security to produce a new video designed to explain the health insurance options available to direct-care workers in Vermont.  The video, “Health Insurance Options for Direct-Care Workers in Vermont”, features PHI’s Northern New England Policy Director, Alex Olins, and Diane McGill, a direct-care worker from Vermont.  In the short video, Alex answers questions from Diane about the various plans available under Green Mountain Care, a family of health insurance plans subsidized by the state.

The video is being promoted to workers through long-term care employers, the Vermont Association of Professional Caregivers, and the Vermont Campaign for Health Care Security.

Allison Lee
National Campaign Manager
HCHCW
alee@phinational.org

State flag of Vermont

PHI has partnered with the Vermont Campaign for Health Care Security’s Education Fund  on an effort to increase outreach to direct care workers about their health insurance options in Vermont.  The state of Vermont offers several subsidized health insurance products, including Medicaid, the Vermont Health Access Program (VHAP) and Catamount, which was launched in 2007.  Despite these three health insurance options, collectively called Green Mountain Care, many direct care workers do not have health insurance.
According the 2007 Legislative Study of the Direct Care Workforce in Vermont (pdf) only one third of direct-care workers in Vermont receive health coverage as an employment benefit.  Another finding of the study showed that workers with health coverage remain in their jobs for 2.5 years longer than those without it.

Alex Olins, PHI’s Northern New England Policy Director, will work with HCHCW and staff from the Vermont Campaign to reach out to direct care workers about their health insurance options.  Activities will include: conducting Green Mountain Care meetings at eldercare/disability services employers around the state; developing a Q&A video with a direct care worker about health insurance options for the HCHCW Vermont webpage; creating a customized paycheck insert to send to the over 5,000 consumer-directed/independent providers about Green Mountain Care options; and hosting Green Mountain Care conference calls for direct care workers to call in with questions about health insurance.  Please contact Alex Olins at aolins@phinational.org for more information.

Alex Olins
Northern New England Policy Director
PHI
aolins@phinational.org

I am my husband’s caregiver.   He suffered from a debilitating stroke 10 years ago when he was 61 years old.  My full time job is to take care of my husband, and because of the failing economy, the state’s ability to pay my wages is now in jeopardy.  What I get from the state pays for my bills, and leaves little extra for anything else.

I have Ladies First. Ladies First is a state program that covers mammograms at a discounted price, on an annual basis. I qualify for that because of my income, and because I don’t have any other health insurance.

I cannot afford health insurance on private market.  It cost me $700 a month at first for a COBRA plan, but my husband’s medical bills were costing me $1000 a month.  That was seven years ago.  I tried a health discount program, from $40 to $60 a month, but doctors didn’t even acknowledge it. I also tried People’s Life health Insurance for $8 a month, but it didn’t cover dental or medical coverage.

In regards to Catamount (which is a privately run, state sponsored subsidized health insurance program for low income individuals), believe I do qualify for that program; however I’m not sure I can afford it at this time.   I also have two pre-existing conditions and those conditions are the only reason I seek health care.  Due to those pre-existing conditions, if I got Catamount, I think I would have to pay for it for several months before I could use which doesn’t seem fair or a good use of money.

I have been lucky that I haven’t gotten very sick and have been able to continue to take care of my husband. I am very very careful that I do not get sick, and have taken extra consideration into everything I do. For example, I recently fell off the roof while doing some work on it, hurt my legs, and took care of myself the best I could while taking care of  my husband’s needs.

In my previous life, my husband was an engineer and I was a design draftsman.  We both had incredible health insurance our entire life.  Once my husband has his stroke all that changed. I think that everyone should have a small tax that goes towards paying for everyone’s health insurance.  Everyone needs to take care of everyone else, because you never know what can happen, how you life can change, and when it will be you who’s reaching out for help.

Linda Holden, Direct Care Worker
Vermont

This past summer, HCHCW expanded into Vermont with an outreach campaign to direct-care workers about a new health care program in the state – Catamount Health.  Catamount Health,  in conjunction with Medicaid, the Vermont Health Access Program (VHAP) and Dr. Dynosaur (a program to insure children), offers subsidized, comprehensive health insurance to Vermonters with incomes of up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level (or individuals with a gross monthly income of $2,613).  This group of programs is known as Green Mountain Care.  Catamount Health went into effect in the fall of 2007.

With these state insurance programs in place, HCHCW embarked on an effort to reach out to direct-care workers in Vermont to inform them about their eligibility for Green Mountain Care. A recent study of the direct-care workforce in Vermont revealed that one in four respondents had no health insurance. 

Our first step was to partner with the Vermont Campaign for Health Care Security Education Fund, a Montpelier-based organization charged with educating uninsured Vermonters (now just under 60,000 in total) about their health care options, as well as getting them enrolled in these programs.  We were also contacted by AARP in Vermont, because AARP recognized that uninsured workers present a challenge for elders who depend on their care.  We also joined forces with VAPCP, Vermont’s professional association for direct-care workers, on this effort.

In July, we sent a targeted Catamount health care brochure (pdf) to 4,500 consumer-directed workers who currently care for consumers or family members in their homes and to all of VAPCP’s 300+ members.  In addition, we met with human resources directors from the state’s home health agencies to make sure they were well-informed about Green Mountain Care products.  In the coming months, we will do the same with the state’s nursing homes and residential care facilities. 

Based on further analysis of the Legislative Study on the Direct-Care Workforce in Vermont (pdf 21MB) , we developed a fact sheet about the health insurance status of direct care workers that is being used with policymakers and employers.  This analysis also led us to develop a second brochure aimed at workers with information about all of the Green Mountain Care programs because the data showed that many workers would be eligible for VHAP or Medicaid as well at Catamount. 

This fall we presented to the state legislature’s Health Access Oversight Committee about the problem of uninsured direct-care workers, and our outreach efforts to date.  Two of the biggest challenges to our work are the lack of mechanisms to track enrollment by job type and the absence of a centralized list of workers. In 2009, we will continue to work with our partners, as well as policymakers, to find solutions to these challenges and enroll as many workers as possible in state-subsidized health insurance programs.

Alex Olins
Northern New England Policy Director
PHI
aolins@phinational.org

A new Vermont fact sheet (pdf) from the Health Care for Health Care Workers Campaign shows that one in four direct-care workers in Vermont lacks health insurance.  Even more startling, is the fact that 50% of the workers who are uninsured work full-time.

While Vermont has been a national leader in creating health insurance options that are affordable and comprehensive, the HCHCW campaign has found that reaching direct-care workers to inform them about those options is difficult since no centralized list of workers exists.  In the last few months, HCHCW has partnered with AARP-Vermont, the Vermont Association of Professional Care Providers, and the Vermont Campaign for Health Security to implement a worker and employer outreach campaign to spread the work about the various health care options that are available.

“From what we know about direct-care worker wages, most of the uninsured workers in Vermont are eligible for one of the state-funded health care programs at little or no cost per month, “said Alex Olins, New England Policy Director for PHI.  “The challenge is reaching them.  I hope that by combining our efforts we’ll be able to reach significant numbers of workers and tell them about these great programs.”

HCHCW Vermont hopes to work with policy makers to develop solutions for both outreach and tracking of health care enrollment by occupation, an additional problem, in the coming year.

Allison Lee
National Campaign Manager
HCHCW
alee@phinational.org