The Direct Care News 
For direct care workers and their allies October 30, 2012
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Direct Care Workers Have Much at Stake in Health Care Debate
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 | | Jessica Brill Ortiz |
The Affordable Care Act (also known as the ACA, or Obamacare) has gained a great deal of attention recently, as President Barack Obama is committed to upholding the ACA and Governor Mitt Romney is committed to repealing it. As we reported earlier, the ACA will benefit hundreds of thousands of direct care workers by taking important steps to make health insurance affordable and accessible.
Over a million of our nation's more than 4 million direct care workers are uninsured, making them nearly twice as likely as the average American to be without health insurance. Yet direct care workers need health care more than the average American, not less. They have one of the highest rates of on-the-job injuries, largely from lifting and transferring the people they care for. They also have higher than average rates of chronic conditions like asthma and diabetes, which become more serious when untreated.
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Direct from Washington, DC
|  Legislation calls for regulation of antipsychotic use in nursing homes: Direct Care Alliance is one of 15 national organizations and more than 60 state and local organizations to sign a letter to Senators Kohl (D-WI), Grassley (R-IA) and Blumenthal (D-CT) in support of their introduction of the Improving Dementia Care Treatment for Older Adults Act of 2012 (S. 3604). If passed, the Act would require nursing homes to obtain informed consent before an antipsychotic medication is prescribed for a resident with dementia, and would create prescriber education programs, among other things.
Revised Medicare rules to increase access to long-term care, services and supports: The Center for Medicare Advocacy, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Vermont Legal Aid have agreed to settle the Improvement Standard case and filed a proposed settlement agreement in federal District Court last week. Under the agreement, Medicare will pay for skilled nursing and therapy services if a consumer needs them to maintain his or her current condition. Previously, beneficiaries often had to show a likelihood of improvement in order for Medicare to pay for these services. This revision is expected to result in increased access to and demand for care, services and supports across settings. Read more about the settlement and how it will affect Medicare beneficiaries.
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Why Nursing Homes Need More of Us CNAs
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 | | Karla Lawrence |
I'm a CNA at a nursing home in the Bronx, where I work the night shift. I've been working here for 12 years, and for eight years before that I did home care. I love being a caregiver, but I wish we had more staff so I could provide more person-centered care, without having to stay late every morning.
If we had more people, the residents would get their needs met better and quicker. Instead of having to wait for someone to answer their bell, they'd get help when they needed it. And we'd have more time to just listen and talk to them, which is important. We'd have more time for the "little" things that don't seem so little when you can't do them without help. Read more from Karla Lawrence.
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The Direct Care Alliance is the national advocacy voice of direct care workers in long-term care. We empower workers to speak out for better wages, benefits, respect, and working conditions, so more people can commit to direct care as a career. We also convene powerful allies nationwide to build consensus for change.
If you have comments on this issue of The Direct Care News or ideas for future issues, please contact Elise Nakhnikian at 646-823-7434, enakhnikian@directcarealliance.org. |
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