For eldercare stakeholders, one of the most meaningful outcomes of the Senate debate on the federal recovery package may have been a floor discussion concerning the direct-care workforce.
In offering an amendment to the bill, a more robust version of Retooling the Health Care Workforce for an Aging America Act, Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI), Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, and Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) extracted a promise from the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee that the needs of the long-term care workforce will be considered in health care reform. Read the full story
On Wednesday, the U.S. House and Senate reached a compromise on the economic recovery package, bringing the total cost to $789 billion.
Complete details were unavailable as of press time. According to various news reports, even though the deal had been struck, lawmakers still had not seen a final summary of the bill, which emerged from conference committee talks in a much expanded form, having doubled in size from roughly 778 pages to a whopping 1434 pages. Read the full story
Recent momentum toward health care reform and attention to the needs of the nation’s caregiving needs may be temporarily derailed by the departure of Secretary of Health nominee Tom Daschle. Read the full story
A New York Timeseditorial titled “Caring for the Caregivers” makes the link between quality care and quality direct-care jobs — calling for improved labor protections in an area that is “one of the fastest growing” but “one of the lowest paid and most exploitable.”
The piece calls home health care “a 21st-century growth industry,” pointing out that, at a time when record layoffs are being reported, the health care sector continues to add jobs — with 32,000 positions added in December 2008 alone.
Referring to federal labor laws that permit home care aides to be exempted from overtime and minimum wage requirements, the editorial says, “It is unconscionable that workers who are entrusted with the care of some of the nation’s most vulnerable citizens are themselves unprotected by basic labor standards.” Read the full story
In a press conference Thursday on the adminstration’s plans to address health care reform, President-Elect Barack Obama officially announced Tom Daschle as his choice for both Secretary of Health and Human Services and director of the new White House Office of Health Reform.
He also named Dr. Jeanne Lambrew, who worked on health policy at the White House from 1997 to 2000, as the deputy director of Health Reform. Read the full story
One hour into the final presidential debate last night, Barack Obama answered a question about the country’s health care crisis, remarking that the issue “will break your heart over and over again.”
The candidates took this final debate opportunity to mention ideas like putting health care records online, establishing more walk-in clinics, and the need to address childhood obesity.
What they didn’t mention was the issue of long-term care.
Well… The presidential debates are over and the general election is fast approaching. Given the limited amount we’ve heard from our candidates on long-term care, do you have an opinion on who would better address this issue? Who do you think will best prepare America to care for its aging population?
Some facts to consider:
The population over 65 will more than double between 2000 and 2030.
By 2016, America will need more direct-care workers than teachers from K-12.
Real wages for personal and home care aides are falling while worker demand increases.
Direct care workers are twice as likely to be uninsured than other workers
Nursing homes lose up to 70% of their workers to turnover each year.
Nursing aides, orderlies, & attendants are over 400% more likely to experience an injury than the average worker.
