A new study finds that the health care costs of employees who provide care to elderly relatives or friends are 8 percent higher than those of employees who are not caregivers. Read the full story

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
September 22, 2009

Contact:

Deane Beebe, PHI Media Relations Director
718.928.2033 / dbeebe@PHInational.org

David Ward, Direct Care Alliance
212.730.0741 / dward@directcarealliance.org

Maine Grant to Expand Insurance to Direct-Care Workers

An $8.5 million federal grant to the state of Maine will expand health coverage to Maine’s direct-care workers. The grant, which was announced on September 3 by Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, will also cover seasonal workers, and is expected to extend coverage to about 3,500 Maine residents. The state is eligible for renewal funds for each of five years, up to a total of $42.5 million. Read the full story

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued guidelines assuring that babies born to women covered by Medicaid or CHIP will be automatically enrolled in those programs for 1 year.

This announcement was made in a letter to state health officials (pdf) providing guidance on the implementation of the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA), one of the first bills signed into law by President Obama.

Read the full story

Key committees in the House and Senate have unveiled plans to ensure that all Americans have access to affordable health care.

In the Senate

Senate Finance has released three papers outlining reform options and will soon choose among these to craft their legislation.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee has released a 615-page draft bill (pdf); additional components are expected to be added to address contentious issues like the creation of a public health insurance option to compete with private insurance plans, and how to finance reform. A summary of the bill’s sections (pdf) is also available. Read the full story

Logo from a North Carolina campaign advocating for paid sick day legislation.

As panic spread last month about a potential swine flu epidemic, Americans were advised to stay home if they were feeling ill. But for millions of workers who receive no paid sick days — including large percentages of direct-care workers — taking a day off from work can be a hard decision as it directly affects their income.

For example, 55 percent of the nation’s full-time personal and home care aides were not offered sick days in 2006 (“Women and Paid Sick Days: Crucial for Family Well-Being,” IWPR, 2007, pdf).

In response to this problem,  Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) have introduced the Healthy Families Act, which would allow  workers up to seven paid sick days a year to recover from their own illness, to care for a sick family member, or to seek diagnostic and preventative care.  Several states and cities have introduced similar bills. Read the full story

Senators Max Baucus and Charles Grassley

Sen. Max Baucus (D-Montana), chair of the Senate Finance Committee, and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), the committee’s ranking member, have released a trio of papers addressing options for the overhaul of the U.S. health care system.

“Transforming the Health Care Delivery System: Proposals to Improve Patient Care and Reduce Health Care Costs” (pdf), released on April 29, presents proposals for “revis[ing] payment systems and policies in the Medicare program to promote higher-quality, and more cost-effective care and to reduce fraud, waste and abuse throughout the health system.” Read the full story