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State Representative Sheldon Johnson
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4201
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E-Update
2012 SESSION UPDATE
Dear neighbors,
The negotiations last year between Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson and representatives from HealthPartners, Medica, UCare and BlueCross BlueShield that led to a voluntary 1 percent cap on profits has created $73 million in health care cost savings, Gov. Dayton announced Tuesday.
One way these savings could be put a good use is to restore the devastating 20 percent wage cut to Personal Care Assistants (PCA) who provide care to a relative that Republicans made last year.
The cut would force nearly 7,000 Minnesotans into the choice of leaving their job or earning less than $10 an hour. At that wage, many PCAs would fall below the poverty line.
One way these savings could be put a good use is to restore the devastating 20 percent wage cut that Republicans made last year to Personal Care Assistants (PCA) who provide care to a relative.
House DFLers last week attempted to amend the omnibus Health and Human Services bill to use these excess HMO reserves just for that purpose. The first amendment would have closed corporate tax loopholes to reverse the wage cut. The second amendment would have used funding generated by capping HMO profits at one percent to restore pay to PCAs. Both failed.
Barbara Christenson shared her story at a press conference before the House session. Barbara’s husband Charles is a PCA for their son Steven, who is suffering from multiple sclerosis.
“We feel we have saved the State of Minnesota money by caring for Steven at home instead of in a nursing home,” said Christenson. “We only asked for help the last eight years. With our income being so much less due to retirement and the extent of care Steven needed increasing, it was necessary to ask for help. When we met with Anoka County it was the hardest thing to ask. We’ve paid our way, never asking for handouts.
“Steven has been a wonderful son. How could we put him in a nursing home? But for the grace of God this could be any one of your family members. Could you put as son or daughter in a nursing home at age 33? Every night when lights go out we hear, ‘Thank you, Dad. Thank you, Mom.’ Please don’t make life harder for relatives who care for a loved one. Coping with the illness is hard enough.”
This windfall should lead us to restore these devastating cuts. These Minnesotans have some of the hardest, most emotionally taxing jobs a person can imagine. They certainly deserve better from their legislators.
News Items
- 2012 SESSION UPDATE - (Posted: 2012-05-01 00:00:00)
- 2012 SESSION UPDATE - (Posted: 2012-04-26 00:00:00)
- 2012 SESSION UPDATE - (Posted: 2012-04-19 00:00:00)
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