Senators Max Baucus and Chuck Grassley (l-r)

Eager to have a bill to introduce in June, the Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Max Baucus (D-MT) with Charles Grassley (R-IA) as the Committee’s ranking member, has released  three papers with options for health reform and invited public comment.

The first paper is on transforming the delivery system, the second on expanding health care coverage, and the third on financing comprehensive reform.

These papers cover a wide range of topics and include a multitude of reform ideas, that, if adopted, would impact direct care workers, their employers, and the consumers they care for and support.

PHI has seized the opportunity to advise committee members and staff on how to make health reform work for the direct-care workforce as well as share our ideas on improving the delivery of long-term care services and supports.

In our comments on the first paper (pdf), PHI highlights the need for specific direct-care workforce development policies at the federal and state levels — including attention to compensation, training, and recruitment and retention — to meet the growing demand for eldercare/disability services and ensure quality care.

PHI  plans to continue to analyze and comment when the actual bills are introduced next month. The other key committee in the Senate – the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, chaired by Edward Kennedy (D-MA) — is expected to release their draft plan at any moment.

“We want to make sure the needs of the direct-care workforce are met in health reform, and we are eager to work with other stakeholders who will help advocate for affordable coverage, improved access to home and community based care, and better standards of wages, benefits, and training for direct care workers,” says Steve Edelstein, PHI National Policy Director.