The Maine Bureau of Insurance recently issued its long awaited report Health Insurance Coverage for Maine’s Direct Care Workers (pdf) and recommends the development of a pilot program to cover a segment of the direct-care workforce. The report was the work of a working group convened over the summer by the Superintendent of Insurance at the direction of the Insurance and Financial Services Committee. Several direct care workers, providers and advocates participated in the group. Continue reading ‘Maine Bureau of Insurance Recommends Pilot Program for Health Insurance’
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I hear it all the time when I talk to co-workers. “We need health insurance,” they always say to me. The drawback is the funding. With Maine’s budget the way it is, I honestly will be very surprised to see if the Legislature follows Ms. Kofman’s recommendation on the pilot. But I am hopeful.
The Bureau of Insurance report on options for providing health insurance to Maine’s direct care workers is finally complete and recommends that a pilot program be developed for covering direct care workers in our state. Having been involved in the process of producing the report, I think the recommendation of a pilot is great as it would be a way to show employers and policy makers that health insurance is important to this workforce.
Continue reading ‘My View: Helen Hanson on Advocacy and the Maine Report’
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. Continue reading ‘HCHCW Expands to Vermont’
“Now, some may ask how at this moment of economic challenge we can afford to invest in reforming our health care system. And I ask a different question. I ask how can we afford not to…. So let’s be clear. If we want to overcome our economic challenges, we must also finally address your health care challenge.
- President- Elect Obama
Last week, President-Elect Obama officially announced Tom Daschle as his choice for both Secretary of Health and Human Services and director of the new White House Office of Health Reform. He also named Dr. Jeanne Lambrew, who worked on health policy at the White House from 1997 to 2000, as the deputy director of Health Reform. According to a story in the New York Times, Daschle wants to establish a Federal Health Board, an independent entity like the Federal Reserve. Details of this plan are described in a book that Lambrew and Daschle recently co-wrote entitled, “Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis.”
According to a recent web post at the Center for American Progress, where Lambrew is a Senior Fellow, Lambrew has advocated for plans that allow Americans to keep their existing coverage, while offering affordable options to those who need them. The plan would simplify Medicaid and extend coverage to those below a certain income level.
President-Elect Obama and his transition team are asking for input on health care reform. Between now and the end of the year, activists are encouraged to hold community meetings, such as a house party, to talk about health care reform and submit comments to the transition team. In particular, it is important to make sure to raise issues that effect the direct-care workforce and long-term care. Sign up to host a community meeting by visiting change.gov. It will take all of us to make sure the meaningful health care reform becomes a reality.
Allison Lee
National Policy Director
HCHCW
alee@phinational.org
The Minnesota Department of Human Services has contracted with The Lewin Group to complete a study of the cost of providing health insurance to long-term care workers in Minnesota. Specifically, the grant is “to complete a study of the cost and the percentage increase in anticipated reimbursement rates needed in future fiscal years under the state Medical Assistance Program, and other state and federally funded long-term care programs, to cover the long-term care employers’ average increased contribution to employee health coverage, in order to provide health and dental insurance coverage for long-term care workers in Minnesota.”
The grant is in response to legislation passed during the 2008 Legislative Session mandating the study, which is to include cost estimates for three levels of insurance coverage for long-term care employees–including skilled nursing facilities and home and community-based providers:
- The coverage provided to state employees
- The coverage provided to MinnesotaCare enrollees
- The benefits provided under an “average” private market insurance product with a deductible limited to $100 per person.
The study will include surveying the state’s workforce to collect data on health benefits currently offered by employers and the number of workers and characteristics of the workforce. The study will begin this month and the anticipated date of completion is June 2009.
The Lewin Group is one of the partners with PHI in the National Direct Service Workforce Resource Center .
Carol Regan
Director
Health Care for Health Care Workers
cregan@phinational.org
What worries you most about the health care system in our country?
That is what the Obama transition team wants to know from ordinary Americans, and they’ve set up a place on their website for you to tell them what you think. We see it as a promising sign that the transition team picked this as the first public discussion on Change.gov.
As advocates for affordable, quality health coverage for direct care workers and their employers, this is one way for you to add your thoughts and ideas to those of thousands of others. Please join the conversation, and let them know what your personal or organization’s priorities are for health care. We would like to see diverse voices joining in the discussion. Here are some points you can make in your comments:
- Direct care workers are twice as likely as the general public to lack health insurance
- Caregiving jobs that are growing the fastest — those providing personal care services in people’s homes — are least likely to have health coverage.
- There is solid evidence that health insurance is critical to job retention and in reducing turnover.
- Insufficient government reimbursement rates to providers are a major obstacle in the ability of those employers to offer insurance to their employees.
Enter your comments now and make your voice heard. And if you do, please share your comment with us by posting it below in the comments section. Or you can email your comment to us at cregan@phinational.org
Carol Regan
Director
Health Care for Health Care Workers
cregan@phinational.org
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
[1] Tables 26-29 and table 44.
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’
Earlier this year, a report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality noted that home health agencies can play a critical role in responding to a potential flu pandemic. The article even points out the role that workers have in addressing such a crisis and how challenges with recruitment and retention can impact an agency’s ability to respond. Continue reading ‘Where Do Workers Turn In Flu Season?’
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