“Do you know where your tax dollars are going?” That’s the theme of a public relations and advocacy campaign launched by 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East to reform the home care industry in New York.
A new website, HomeCareCrisis.org, was launched in late October to be the leading edge of the campaign.
The campaign highlights the fact that home health aides in New York City make a small fraction of the Medicaid rate paid for home care services, and as much as $2.50 less than personal care aides, who are known as home attendants in New York City. Home attendants’ compensation has been set at $10 an hour by New York City’s Living Wage ordinance.
The campaign’s website invites the reader to report home care fraud and includes news stories specific to Medicaid fraud in home care. The website also includes links to articles, editorials, and research reports that both emphasize the value of direct-care workers and outline strategies to create a high-quality workforce.
Additionally, the website features profiles of workers. The profiles demonstrate that home health aides provide a far more valuable service than their low pay would suggest.
George Gresham, president of 1199SEIU, uses the campaign website to call attention to the practice of subcontracting for aide services (in other words, when overhead costs of two separate organizations absorb a portion of the home health aide rate). The union contends that this practice minimizes the amount the aide gets paid.
Subcontracting for aide services is one of several issues that will be considered by the Home Health Care Reimbursement Workgroup, recently convened by the New York State Commissioner of Health Richard F. Daines, M.D.
PHI New York State Policy Director Carol Rodat was appointed by Commissioner Daines to be a member of the workgroup.
Matt
Perhaps you should also consider writing a post which outlines the SEIUs plan to assist the home health aides when they have concerns or questions out in the field (eg. “my patient hasn’t eaten in 3 days or has not taken his medications” or perhaps “has a rash on his legs”). Is the SEIU going to send a nurse out or is the common answer going to be, “call the doctor” to which the taxpayers will have to eat the cost. The taxpayers also need to hear the flipside of this hypothesis. Common concerns arise in home health and home care which the aides can not handle or require the assistance of a skilled profession or a support system. Is the government (ie. taxpayer) going to “support” the support system? Abuse will also be a huge concern without someone watching (ie. supervising) the aides. Thanks for your consideration.