Members of the U.S House of Representatives were urged to support H.R. 1279, the Direct Support Professionals Fairness and Security Act, at a January 16 hearing on Capitol Hill. The bill calls for improving the wages and benefits of direct support professionals.

The hearing was held by the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health to examine the role of Medicaid in helping people with disabilities. According to a news release from the American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR), the organization behind H.R. 1279, most presenters focused on accessing community care, and some spoke of the need to better support the workers who provide that care. ANCOR member Ralph Gronefeld, the president and CEO of ResCare, urged committee members to support H.R. 1279, making the connection between low pay and high turnover rates among direct-care workers.

“This is a tremendous moral victory,” said Renee Pietrangelo, CEO of ANCOR, in the release. “Members of the committee are discussing our bill, H.R. 1279, in the context of the critical role Medicaid plays in the lives of Americans with disabilities. This is a result of the grassroots support our providers, direct support professionals, and families have shown on the workforce wage issue.”