The Direct Care News 
For direct care workers and their allies October 8, 2013
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Reports from the Field: Medicaid Expansion in Texas, Voices Institute in NYC
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 | | Vernell Simmons |
Advocating for Medicaid Expansion in Texas: I recently traveled from my home in Houston to Austin to meet with people from other nonprofit organizations around Texas, on behalf of Direct Care Alliance and our local chapter, the Greater Houston Direct Care Alliance. We were all there to talk about how to support implementation of the Affordable Care Act--including getting Texas to expand its Medicaid program. Read more from Vernell Simmons. DCA's Voices Institute Goes to Brooklyn: What an amazing group of direct care workers I got to meet on September 25 and 26, at a Voices Institute training for CenterLight Best Choice Home Care in Brooklyn, New York! Direct Care Alliance Executive Director Carla Washington and I led the training for 19 home health aides, who had a total of 103 years of direct care experience between them. Read more from Brenda Nachtway.
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Direct from Washington, D.C.
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Federal Government Shutdown: The partial shutdown of the U.S. government, which has been in place since October 1 because Congress has not passed a fiscal year 2014 appropriation or a continuing resolution to fund the government, has left many programs of importance to direct care workers and their families--including Medicaid, some Social Security benefits and food stamps--unaffected. But other programs, such as Head Start, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), are affected. In addition, many government agencies are temporarily closed or otherwise affected as a result of the shutdown. The Affordable Care Act (ACA, also known as Obamacare), an important victory for direct care workers, is at the center of the budget debate: The House of Representatives wants any new spending bill to include provisions to defund or otherwise limit the ACA, while the Senate is against any dismantling of the law. Learn more about the shutdown.
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Advocates Gear Up to Support Paid Family Leave Bill
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 | | Rachel Lyons |
The Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act, aka the FAMILY Act, is expected to be introduced very soon in Congress. DCA's Elise Nakhnikian talked to Rachel Lyons, Government Affairs Manager for the National Partnership for Women & Families, about the bill and how it would benefit direct care workers and the people they assist.
What would this bill do for American workers?
The FAMILY Act would create a paid family and medical leave insurance program that would bring the nation's employment safeguards more in line with the needs of the 21st century workforce and the rest of the world. We lag behind most other nations in providing paid leave for new parents, to address one's own serious health condition or to take care of an ill family member. For example, the US is one of only eight nations worldwide that don't provide some sort of paid maternity leave. Read more.
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Get Direct Care Workers Covered
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 Direct care workers were featured in recent coverage about the Affordable Care Act. The New York Times reports that 253,000 nurses' aides are among the millions of people left uninsured in states that refuse to expand their Medicaid coverage. If all states expanded Medicaid, about 21 million currently uninsured people would gain coverage over the next decade. A Virginia CNA who works two jobs for $19,000 a year is quoted in a story about who will benefit from the new exchanges.
Visit our Get Direct Care Workers Covered web page to learn more about direct care workers and health insurance--and where New Yorkers can find help in accessing free or affordable insurance. |
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