1199 Caregivers Meet Advocates to Discuss 2015 Legislative Priorities

February 11, 2015

On January 29, 1199SEIU caregivers met with newly elected legislators and went to the Massachusetts State House in Boston to advocate for new bills that will improve the lives of home care and healthcare workers. Caregivers met with legislators including Representatives Michelle DuBois, Evandro Carvahlo, and Carlos Gonzalez to discuss upcoming legislative priorities, including: a higher minimum wage for home care agency workers; bolstering the safety net trust fund for community hospitals and the creation of a commission to recommend policies on nursing homes.“I’ve wanted to get more involved in political action. I never realized how connected our community hospitals are to the budget, politics and bills,” said 1199SEIU delegate and Good Samaritan Hospital member Marcie Lyford. “Two of our key bills this year are really relevant to my community hospital because Good Samaritan is a Disproportionate Share Hospital and also receives payments from the Health Safety Net Trust Fund. Medicaid reimbursement rates are too low, so we fight for increases because it’s what pays our bills and enables us to deliver care.”



An Act to Strengthen the Massachusetts Home Care Program



Across the Commonwealth, non-union agency home care workers are being shortchanged by their employers and earning poverty wages. To address this, caregivers are asking the state legislature to require that home care agency employers provide more detailed financial disclosures and other information about their businesses. Industry analysts have pointed out major discrepancies between the rates charged by home care agencies and the poverty pay received by their employees. The bill would also boost most agency workers’ pay to a minimum of $15 an hour.



An Act Creating a Special Commission on Institutional Long Term Care Services



A major challenge for nursing home workers and patients has been the arbitrary shuttering of nursing homes and changes of ownership without regard to worker and community voices and opinion. The commission created by this bill would help long term care workers across the whole industry by creating a more rational process for the closure and licensing of nursing homes.



An Act to Benefit the Health Safety Net Trust Fund



1199SEIU members at community and safety net hospitals know that securing and protecting funding for our institutions is a critical part of preserving jobs and services. The Health Safety Net Trust Fund was established several years ago to reimburse community and safety net hospitals for free care provided to the uninsured, including many of our most vulnerable patients. If passed, this bill would require large, wealthy doctors’ groups such as Atrius to contribute $20 million annually to the Health Safety Net Trust Fund unless at least 15% of their income comes from serving Medicaid patients. This will create more fairness in a system that currently favors wealthy providers who offer relatively small amounts of care to lower income patients and more vulnerable populations. This bill would take important steps towards leveling the playing field for the community and safety net hospitals where 1199SEIU members work while ensuring additional funding for the important services we provide.



An Act Relative to Equitable Health Care Pricing



In Massachusetts, a small group of increasingly wealthy doctors and healthcare providers receive a disproportionate amount of healthcare dollars. A new bill proposed by 1199SEIU will prohibit private insurance companies from agreeing to pay hospitals more than 20% above or 10% below the average amount paid to similar providers for the same health care services.



“Equitable health care pricing is a very relevant issue, because, as a friend explained to me, it’s like buying clothes. You’re just paying more for a name brand when the generic version is just as good. These larger hospitals make more money for the same procedure and quality we provide, which raises the cost of health insurance for all of us,” said Lyford.



- See more at: http://www.1199seiu.org/1199_caregivers_meet_advocates_for_2015_legislative_priorities#sthash.JcPtuuh3.dpuf