May 24, 2007 - As part of its Health Care for Health Care Workers initiative in Pennsylvania, PHI is helping to shine a spotlight on the needs of the commonwealth’s direct-care workers.

On May 4, PHI held a briefing for Allegheny County legislators on how the Prescription for Pennsylvania, a new statewide legislative plan to reform health care, would benefit direct-care workers. That same day, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ran an editorial by Tracy Lawless, head of the Pennsylvania HCHCW initiative, about the need for affordable health insurance for direct-care workers. Lawless, who had spoken at a May 3 press conference in support of the proposed law, also did a radio interview on Metro Networks News after the hearing. Lawless also helped organize a May 23 rally in support of the bill.

PHI is part of a coalition of Pittsburgh-area groups, including Consumer Health Coalition and Mon Valley Unemployed Committee, who support the legislation. The coalition called the press conference to address the media covering the second day of hearings by the House Insurance Committee. They spoke about the need for affordable, quality health care for all Pennsylvanians.

The coalition also sent a letter to state legislators urging them to support the legislation. “The Prescription for Pennsylvania would reduce health care costs and, we believe, slow the growth in insurance premiums that continues to force more employers to drop coverage and swell the ranks of the uninsured,” the letter says.

The state’s new plan would subsidize workers who earn less than 300 percent of the federal poverty level, which would make most direct-care workers eligible for subsidies, since the average wage for a direct-care worker in Pennsylvania is $9 an hour.

Speakers at PHI’s legislative briefing included a direct-care worker, a consumer, and a home care employer, who talked to legislators about challenges facing the direct-care workforce and the need for long-term care reform, including better health care coverage for caregivers. In attendance were local state elected officials, representatives from the Governor’s office, and several state and federal legislative staff.

“With the nation’s third-oldest population and the fastest-growing segment of people over 80, long-term care must be a top priority for the Commonwealth,” said Rep. Todd Eachus, Majority Policy Chairman and co-host of the event, in a PHI press release. “Quality care starts with direct-care workers, and lawmakers need to know the facts about what these professionals face every day.”

About 700 people attended the rally to promote health care coverage for low-wage workers, according to an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The article quoted Lawless as saying that employers are reluctant to provide insurance because of the high cost, but paying for coverage could save money in the long run by cutting down on the cost of recruitment and training as retention rates improved.

In her op-ed, Rx for Pennsylvania: Health-care workers need health-care coverage,

Lawless wrote: “What happens when direct-care workers lack health coverage? Many are forced to seek better-paying jobs with health benefits so they can care for themselves and their families. Who suffers? Pennsylvanians who need long-term care.”