The Direct Care News     transparent logo, white type
For direct care workers and their allies
 
January 15, 2013

Join DCA and Become Part of the Solution          

Brenda
Brenda Nachtway
If you're a direct care worker, you know all about the challenges facing your profession, including low wages, poor benefits, limited training opportunities, and a widespread and demoralizing lack of respect. Wouldn't you like to do something to help make things better?

By becoming a member of the Direct Care Alliance, you can join your fellow direct care workers in the fight for change. Read more from DCA's Brenda Nachtway.
Direct from Washington, D.C.
Capitol HIll President Obama demands that Congress raise the debt ceiling: The U.S. hit its debt ceiling (the country's current authorized borrowing limit) of $16.4 trillion at the end of last year, as it continued to spend more than it receives in revenue. Congress has the ability to increase the debt ceiling, and Congressional Republicans want to tie such an increase to significant spending cuts, potentially to programs such as Medicaid and Social Security, which provide important health care and financial support to millions of older adults, individuals with disabilities and low-income Americans. On January 14, the President called upon Congress to raise the debt ceiling and said he would not negotiate with Republicans over raising the debt limit.

Senator Rockefeller to retire next year:
On January 11, Senator John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV) announced he would not seek reelection in 2014. Senator Rockefeller has served five terms in the U.S. Senate and has been a champion for low-income families, older adults, and disabled individuals, in part by supporting programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. Senator Rockefeller has also been a champion of healthcare reform and the Affordable Care Act, which takes important steps to ensure that millions of Americans--including hundreds of thousands of direct care workers--have access to affordable, accessible, quality health care. Learn more about Senator Rockefeller's work.
Health Care Workers Deserve Health Care
Mohan Varghese
Mohan Varghese
"I, and many fellow South Dakota direct care workers, do not have health insurance. Imagine that. In a country as great and as wealthy as the U.S., health care workers must do without health care," writes DCA member and home care worker Mohan Varghese in an op-ed published last week.

Varghese's editorial, which was published in the Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Argus Leader, calls on South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard to "do the right thing for us and other hard-working South Dakotans by expanding our state Medicaid program" under the Affordable Care Act.

The governor has said he is opposed to the idea of expanding Medicaid, though doing so would provide affordable health care coverage for thousands of South Dakotan direct care and other low-wage workers--those who earn a little too much to qualify for current Medicaid coverage but too little to afford private insurance premiums. Read Mohan's op-ed.

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Direct from the Headlines
Have you ever needed leave for illness, new baby or ill family member but couldn't take it? Take this survey to tell your story. If you're a direct care worker, DCA wants to hear your story too. Please contact Elise at [email protected] or 646-823-7434.

Caring Across Generations' Ai-jen Poo on how the President can keep his promise to home care workers.

Alan van Capelle of Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice on the need to raise minimum wage and protect worker rights for home care workers and others.

Poor pay isn't just bad for your financial health, a new study finds: low wages are linked to high blood pressure.

Great news for New Mexico direct care workers: Governor Susana Martinez has opted to expand her state's Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act.
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, [email protected].