Home Care Workers Applaud Legislators For Largely Protecting Home Care Services For Seniors and People with Disabilities, But Democratic Budget Leaves Lowest-Paid Workers Without Funding for Health Care

Tuesday, April 13

The union representing home care workers today applauded legislators for rejecting major cuts to home care services. The state budget makes only a small overall reduction in hours of care for vulnerable seniors and people with disabilities, as well as a small reduction in reimbursement rates for home care agencies – rejecting much larger cuts proposed earlier in the legislative session. The budget also largely protects adult day health services from further budget cuts.

“Last year the legislature cut millions of hours of care for vulnerable residents who rely on these services to be able to live in their own homes,” said SEIU Healthcare 775NW President David Rolf. “We’re pleased that the legislature rejected proposals to further undermine these services and instead largely protected home care and adult day health services for seniors and people with disabilities.”

But home care workers also noted that once again, the legislature treated them – the lowest-paid workers – as second class citizens with respect to health benefits. While Democrats did the right thing and protected affordable health care for working families on the basic health plan, children, and state employees, they failed to do the same for home care workers who make just over $10 an hour – leaving their health care costs set to skyrocket over the next year.

“We provide life-sustaining care to vulnerable seniors and people with disabilities so they can live with dignity in their own homes. We save the state millions of dollars by keeping folks out of more expensive institutions,” said Spokane home care worker Valerie Anderson-Webb, a cancer survivor who relies on her insurance for critical medications. “If my costs go up, I may not be able to afford by health insurance any more. I don’t understand why the legislature felt it was important to protect health benefits for everyone except low-income home care workers.”