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The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is accepting nominations for a national Personal Care Attendants Workforce Advisory Panel through Friday, June 18.
The new 15-member advisory panel will advise HHS and Congress on workforce issues related to personal care attendant workers, with respect to:
- the adequacy of the number of these workers;
- the wages and benefits of these workers; and
- access to the services provided by these workers.
The PCA Workforce Advisory Panel is part of the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act — a provision in the new national health reform law establishing a voluntary long-term care insurance program — and will be managed by the HHS CLASS Office.
“The PCA advisory panel will play a critical role in shaping the future of one of the nation’s fastest-growing occupations,” said Carol Regan, PHI government affairs director.
“It will address recruitment of an adequate supply of workers, as well as the challenge of improving wages for this critical workforce, which — adjusting for inflation — have only increased by mere pennies over the last decade.”
A notice about the PCA Workforce Advisory Panel nominations was posted in the June 16 Federal Register (pdf).
According to the Federal Register, HHS is seeking panel members with expertise in the following areas:
- long-term services and supports;
- aging and disability populations and services;
- practices that help reduce high personal care attendant workforce vacancy and turnover rates;
- Medicaid, Medicare, the Older Americans Act, and the Workforce Investment System;
- community residential services; and
- policy analysis and development related to the financing, access, provision, and quality of health care services.
Panel members will be appointed for a two-year term.
More information about the panel and how to nominate a member is available at PHI Health Care for Health Care Workers.
– by Deane Beebe
