Obama-Biden Transition Team Health Care Listening Session

Tuesday, December 30th 4pm - 6pm Arnold/Howard Room, Augusta Civic Center, Augusta, Maine

Sponsored by: Maine Medical Association (MMA), the Maine Osteopathic Association (MOA) and the Downeast Association of Physician Assistants (DEAPA)

Moderators: Gordon Smith, Esq., EVP of MMA and Joel Kase, D.O., MPH, President-elect of MOA

As we work to revamp our health care system, we need to hear from you. There is no problem that we cannot solve together-and it is out of our collective wisdom and experience that we will identify potential solutions to the many health care challenges that we face. We need to hear your ideas and your stories so that we can report them to the President-elect. Your answers will guide our collective effort to reform the U.S. health system.

This session is one of nearly 5000 scheduled the last two weeks of December across the country. Comments offered at the session will be recorded and forwarded to the transition team for its use in its effort to prepare health care reform legislation.

Download an advance copy of the five-page Participant Guide for Health Care Community Discussions.

Can't make it to the session but still want to participate? Post your questions about health care policy.

Submit your own personal health stories.

Open to the public. Please RSVP to 622-3374 x219 or RSVP@mainemed.com. I apologize for the very late posting of this event. If you can make it tomorrow, please call to RSVP. If not and you want to participate, please do so via the above links. Our leaders need to hear from us on health care and here's an opportunity to let your voice be heard. - Helen

CAHC Action - Save the Date

Consumers for Affordable Health Care in concert with the Maine Voices for Coverage Coalition is holding a press conference and rally at the State House in the Hall of Flags on January 15, 2009 from 11 to 1 pm, introducing legislation in an effort at health care reform right here in Maine. What CAHC and Maine Voices for Coverage need are stories from small businesses and from individuals pertaining to their health insurance struggles. They need stories about small businesses in Maine that can no longer afford to provide health insurance coverage to their employees because the cost of the insurance is so high. They need personal stories from folks who thought they had enough coverage, got sick or had an injury, then discovered that their health insurance was full of loop holes and had not enough coverage. CAHC and Maine Voices for Coverage also need folks to be at this press conference and rally, to show support for health care reform. Please contact Doug at dclopp@mainecahc.org or Cherilee at cbudrick@mainecahc.org at Consumers for Affordable Health Care for more information.

Obama chooses Daschle; Asks for input on Health Care Reform

“Now, some may ask how at this moment of economic challenge we can afford to invest in reforming our health care system. And I ask a different question. I ask how can we afford not to…. So let’s be clear. If we want to overcome our economic challenges, we must also finally address your health care challenge. - President- Elect Obama Last week, President-Elect Obama officially announced Tom Daschle as his choice for both Secretary of Health and Human Services and director of the new White House Office of Health Reform. He also named Dr. Jeanne Lambrew, who worked on health policy at the White House from 1997 to 2000, as the deputy director of Health Reform. According to a story in the New York Times, Daschle wants to establish a Federal Health Board, an independent entity like the Federal Reserve. Details of this plan are described in a book that Lambrew and Daschle recently co-wrote entitled, “Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis.” According to a recent web post at the Center for American Progress, where Lambrew is a Senior Fellow, Lambrew has advocated for plans that allow Americans to keep their existing coverage, while offering affordable options to those who need them. The plan would simplify Medicaid and extend coverage to those below a certain income level. President-Elect Obama and his transition team are asking for input on health care reform. Between now and the end of the year, activists are encouraged to hold community meetings, such as a house party, to talk about health care reform and submit comments to the transition team. In particular, it is important to make sure to raise issues that effect the direct-care workforce and long-term care. Sign up to host a community meeting by visiting change.gov. It will take all of us to make sure the meaningful health care reform becomes a reality. Allison Lee National Policy Director HCHCW

Cuts Proposed in MaineCare

Dear MAIN Members and Supporters, The State is facing another large deficit. Once again, MaineCare cuts are being proposed. This is only the beginning of a series of budget cut proposals that we will see over the next month. However, we want to alert you to proposed cuts in the MaineCare program that will be considered right away. They concern us and we think may concern you too. The Governor's supplemental budget proposes to eliminate several MaineCare services to parents. These are mostly working parents with family incomes within the following limits: You will be affected if: If you have a family of 2, with monthly income between $1,167 and $2,334 If you have a family of 3, with monthly income between $1,467 and $2,934 If you have a family of 4 with monthly income between $1,767 and $3,534 If you have a family of 5 with monthly income between $2,067 and $4,134 ONLY PARENTS (NOT CHILDREN) WILL BE AFFECTED BY THESE SERVICE CUTS. The budget proposal does not include a list of the actual services to be cut. We hope to get that information in the next few days and will contact you again once we know more. However, in the meantime, we hope that you will contact us if you are a parent on MaineCare whose income is within the limits above. That will help us know who will be harmed.Please also tell us if there are particular MaineCare services that are very important to you. Please contact us if you or a family you know are willing to help fight these cuts when the time is right. We expect there will be public hearings on the budget scheduled the first or second week of January. We will need to make sure legislators hear the stories and the voices of people who will be hurt by cuts to services. We realize that not everyone who will be hurt by these cuts can come to the State House in Augusta and talk to legislators. However, please contact us as soon as possible so that together we can determine the most effective way for you, or a parent you know, to help legislators understand the harm that these cuts would cause. Please send an email to Crystal Bond or call Maine Equal Justice at 1-866-626-7059 x 205. Thank you! Crystal Crystal M. Bond Paralegal/Organizer Maine Equal Justice Partners 126 Sewall Street Augusta, Maine 04330 Tel: 1-866-626-7059 x 205 Fax: 207-621-8148 www.mejp.org "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."Martin Luther King, Jr.

Here's one way to Get Involved

MSEA-SEIU members launch campaign to rescue state budget, revitalize economy. Forty states, including Maine, are dealing with a budget crisis. MSEA-SEIU members are uniting to demand that Congress act immediately to: - Provide more federal funding that will allow us to maintain the vital services our communities need; - Build and maintain our critical infrastructure; - Prevent layoffs and create new jobs. Get involved. Click here to see how.

Notice of Dues and Service Fees Increase

As of January 1st, 2009, dues and service fees for MSEA-SEIU bargaining unit members will increase. Members who are regularly scheduled to work more than 32 hours per week will pay $9.75 per week ($19.50 biweekly). Non-members who are regularly scheduled to work more than 32 hours per week will pay $5.06 per week in service fees ($10.12 biweekly). Members who are regularly scheduled to work 16 to 32 hours per week will pay $5.85 per week in dues ($11.70 biweekly). Non-members who are scheduled to work 16 to 32 hours per week will pay $3.04 per week in service fees ($6.07 biweekly). Members who are regularly scheduled to work 8 to 16 hours per week will pay $2.93 per week in dues ($5.85 biweekly). Non-members who are regularly scheduled to work less than 16 hours per week will pay $1.52 per week in service fees ($3.04 biweekly). Part-time employees regularly scheduled to work 8 hours or less per week will pay $0.00 per week, zero dues. If you're upset about these increases, all I can say is become a member, get involved, take action to protect our jobs and our wages. With the upcoming budget shortfalls looming, we'll need strong, union voices at the statehouse. We'll need to let our elected officials know we can't stand another cut. I also urge you to remember how our raises and quarterly stipends with our first contract came about. MSEA-SEIU, our union, was responsible for writing the legislation to increase the reimbursement rate that Home Care of Maine received for homemaking services. MSEA-SEIU also pushed for its passage, first through the DHHS Committee, then through the full legislature. Without our union, MSEA-SEIU, we would not have gotten the raises we got with our first contract. We are going to need MSEA-SEIU again. Our union will help raise awareness of the services our consumers need, as well as the need for better pay and benefits for us workers. If you don't like the way things are going, get involved, work towards change. Come to 771's next chapter meeting, Saturday, January 10th, MSEA-SEIU headquarters, 65 State Street, Augusta from 1-3 pm. Come and voice your questions, concerns, gripes. I'll be glad to see you there.

Gas Card at 771's next Meeting

Local 771 will give away another $50 gas card to a lucky member present at our January 10th meeting. Remember, you must be present to win. Hope to see you there!

More Aid for Older Mainers Sought

AUGUSTA -- Advocates for the elderly plan to expand legislation requesting an additional $1 million for aid programs, despite state budget shortfalls. Brenda Gallant, the state's long-term care ombudsman, said difficult budget times make this the right environment to broaden effective programs that could save the state money in the long term by keeping people out of nursing homes. "With the budget crisis we're in, it's really important to stress cost effectiveness and quality," she said. Next week, Gov. John Baldacci is scheduled to release a $140 million supplemental budget to address a budget gap in the current state spending plan. In January, he will release a new two-year state budget estimated at $6.3 billion that will include cuts totaling $838 million. The basis for the elder-care legislation comes from a blue-ribbon commission report released last month. Among the recommendations: * Eliminate waiting lists for home-based care and homemaker services by fiscal year 2010. Right now, there are 870 people on a waiting list for homemaker services, which include help with grocery shopping, laundry, housekeeping and errands. And there are 375 people on a waiting list for home-based care, which includes homemaker services plus bathing, dressing and other personal needs. * Spend $300,000 per year so more people are served by Aging and Disability Resource Centers. The centers provide information and referral services for the elderly and adults with physical disabilities and their families. * Spend $500,000 per year in the Priority Social Services Program, which includes Meals on Wheels and a program in which volunteers give rides to medical appointments. * Spend $200,000 per year for the family caregiver program, which provides assistance to the elderly, and adults with disabilities, to help them stay in their homes. Graham Newson, executive director of the Maine Association of Area Agencies on Aging, said he's well aware of the budget problems facing the state. "Any discussion at the Statehouse is a matter of priorities," he said. "Money is very tight. I really see our role is to alert the Legislature to programs that are working and making a difference to Mainers." Rep. Sawin Millett, R-Waterford, served on the blue-ribbon commission and has been a member of the Legislature's Appropriations Committee. A conservative, he said there may be ways to fund some of the requests, but that the money would have to come from savings elsewhere in the Department of Health and Human Services budget. "It would be foolhardy to think we could implement them all," he said. He said it should be a priority to get people off the waiting lists and thinks that by moving other people into less costly programs, it would free up money for those needs. When it comes to juggling budget requests, Millett said this is one area where the state should play a key role. "I think it's high in the overall scope of priorities of what state government is all about," he said. "We have a serious state responsibility and I think we should take it seriously." Senate Majority Leader Phil Bartlett, D-Gorham, also a member of the elder commission, said these proposals will be part of a larger discussion about "providing care in the least costly setting at every stage of life." "Can we come up with money today to save us money down the road?" he said. "We didn't think we should let the session go by without having that conversation." The advocates for the elderly say even if the Legislature puts off funding until better economic times, the needs of Maine's elderly will continue to grow. Maine has the oldest median age in the country, and it's far more expensive for someone to live in a nursing home than to stay at home with some state-supported services, they said. The state Office of Elder Services estimates the monthly cost for a MaineCare-eligible person in a nursing home is nearly $4,000 compared to $1,686 for those who get help at home. Gallant said many times, the state provides some assistance to families who are already serving as primary caregivers. In some instances, a $1,000 investment by the state to build a ramp or pave part of a driveway will mean someone can stay at home longer. "The dilemma is, if they don't get services, some of them will end up in a more expensive nursing facility," Newson said. Susan Cover -- 620-7015 Kennebec Journal, December 10, 2008

HCAN meeting with Congressman Mike Michaud

This afternoon, the Maine Health Care for America Now coalition met with Congressman Michaud. The meeting was good and very upbeat. Congressman Michaud did not sign on to HCAN's health care principles. He wants to see what the Obama Administration will put forth before he signs. He basically said that he supports HCAN's Statement of Common Purpose and he knows that health care reform is a top priority. He wants know what the administration plans to put forth for health care reform. If it is something he agrees with, he'll support it. He did not rule out his support of HCAN. He is a very detailed kind of person and he reads the fine print on legislation to see if it is something he can support or not, just like his vote against the $700 billion bailout. We asked him his priorities in the upcoming session. Health care was at the top of his list. Another priority is health care for veterans and utilizing the VA system to help hold down costs for the general public. By this he means more contracting with rural, local hospitals so our vets don't have to travel so far to receive services. It is good for our vets who live in rural areas and good for the local hospitals. Congressman Michaud mentioned transportation, economic stimulus, trade and funding for home-based care as opposed to nursing home care as also being priorities. I took the liberty of talking to Congressman Michaud after the meeting to tell him that we need increased funding in home based care. Elders and disabled in need of services are enduring long waiting lists. They do not want to leave their homes and go into nursing homes. Congressman Michaud agreed to meet with HCAN in January, after we all know a bit more about what the administration is working on. He urged us to stay in touch with what's happening with the health care reform issue. See the organizations involved in the HCAN coalition across the nation.

A Christmas Greeting

771 received this from the fine folks at Consumers for Affordable Health Care

Year of the Woman

Kennebec Journal, December 4, 2008

Libby Mitchell, Hannah Pingree and Janet Mills are reaching levels of top leadership in Maine

BIG BANG: Avery Minot Pingree, 7 of North Haven, covers her ears as her step-sister House Speaker Hannah Pingree pounds her gavel on the first day of the new legislative session on Wednesday in Augusta. Avery was among the many visiting family members and friends in the State House as both chambers took their oaths on Wednesday.

VOTED IN: Senators Earle McCormick, R-West Gardier, left, and Douglas Smith, R-Dover Foxcroft, right, cheer along with the rest of the Senate chamber after Sen. Libby Mitchell, D-Vassalboro, center, was elected Senate President on Wednesday morning in Augusta.

AUGUSTA -- The members of the 124th Legislature took their seats Wednesday on a day marked by tradition, hope and history.

Family and friends squeezed into folding chairs in the Senate chamber to watch as Sen. Elizabeth Mitchell, D-Vassalboro, became the first woman in the country to have been selected by her peers to serve first as House Speaker and now Senate president.

Over in the House, Rep. Hannah Pingree, D-North Haven, was sworn in as House Speaker. Her mother, U.S. Rep.-elect Chellie Pingree, watched her 32-year-old daughter take the oath.

Later in the day, the Legislature named Janet Mills, of Farmington, the new attorney general, making her the first woman in Maine history to hold that position. A special election will be held to fill her House seat representing Farmington and Industry.

"It is the year of the woman in Maine," Speaker Hannah Pingree said.

Through it all, legislators began their two years of service with the knowledge that the national economy is in recession and state budget cuts will force them to make difficult decisions.

Paul Cates, of Vassalboro Friends Meeting, led the Senate prayer by describing the day's events as "an auspicious occasion in a very difficult time."

On a day light on policy, Mitchell and Pingree announced their intention to create a task force on energy that would "advance a greener Maine," Mitchell said.

The Senate also brought back a tradition that dates to the 1820s by sending a senator to "stoke the furnace."

This year, Sen. Walter Gooley, R-Farmington, performed the task, which allowed Mitchell to take a seat in the chamber while she waited to be formally voted in as Senate president.

Gov. John Baldacci then entered the chamber to say a few words and deliver the oath of office.

"It is a season of change," he said. "Change is coming from Washington, Augusta and statehouses across the country. It's going to be difficult and challenging times."

Many of the legislators brought family members with them to the ceremony.

With his right hand held high while reciting the oath, Senate Majority Leader Phil Bartlett, D-Gorham, used his left hand to steady his small daughter as she crawled on his desk.

Republicans in both chambers showed good will by choosing not to nominate competing officers to the Democratic choices. Democrats hold solid majorities in both bodies.

Senate Minority Leader Kevin Raye, R-Perry, seconded the motion to install Mitchell as Senate president, saying he considers her a friend.

He also warned of the uncertain economic times.

"We have an opportunity, indeed an obligation, to downsize state government to a level taxpayers can afford," he said.

Mitchell, 68, delivered a speech that touched on her experience in the Legislature -- she's served 22 years off and on since 1974, including a tenure as House Speaker from 1996 to 1998 -- and the current economic crisis.

She also urged fellow Senators to project a positive image of the state to help attract more businesses.

"Unfortunately, too many lobbyists, state leaders and pundits have taken to trashing Maine in order to advance their narrow agenda," she said. "A cottage industry has sprung up in many corners to proclaim the bad news about all things Maine."

In an address to the House, Pingree spoke about energy costs in Maine and a recent report that showed 13 percent of Maine families don't have enough food to feed their families regularly.

"This is simply unacceptable," she said. "Worse yet, during a time of economic crisis, levels of food insecurity could rise as parents lose their jobs and elderly residents choose between heat and food."

She said she will work with Maine farmers to "address this in a serious and urgent way."

After the ceremony, Pingree's mother, who will be sworn in to Congress on Jan. 6, said it was hard to describe what it was like to watch her daughter be sworn in as House Speaker.

"It's sort of surreal," she said. "It's great as a mom, but it's also great as a woman. It's not just motherly pride. She's going to be excellent in that job."

Susan Cover -- 620-7015 scover@centralmaine.com

Help with Prescriptions

Dear Friends, For Maine residents living in the counties of Cumberland, Franklin, Knox, Penobscot, Somerset, and Waldo, there is a discount prescription option that you may not have heard about yet. People living in the counties listed above can go to their Town Office or their County Commissioner’s Office to pick up their free drug discount card. The average discount seen with these cards is reported to be about 20% off the total retail cost. There are no income or asset guidelines for this assistance. This new program adds another resource to the list of programs that can help eligible Mainers with drug costs. Other programs that could be helpful are MaineCare, Maine Rx Plus, Low-Cost Drugs for the Elderly and Disabled, Medicare, retail generic discounts, and other drug-specific programs. For more information about these other programs and how to apply if they are right for you, just give us a call at our HelpLine (1-800-965-7476). For more information about the county-specific programs, call or visit your Town Office or County Commissioner’s Office. Best Regards, Jaime I got this in an email from Consumers for Affordable Health Care

Gallup Poll found that Americans Still Strongly Support Unions

by Mike Hall, Dec 2, 2008 Despite the best efforts of corporate-backed anti-union groups, the Bush White House and anti-worker politicians demonizing unions on the campaign trail, most Americans continue to approve of unions, as they have for the past seven decades. The latest update from Gallup on union support shows 59 percent of those surveyed back unions, while 29 percent disapprove of them. According to Gallup: Americans have generally held a favorable view of unions for decades—with no less than 55 percent of Americans saying they approve of labor unions in Gallup polls conducted from 1936 to 2008. Not surprisingly, most of the support comes from Democrats and independents. Seventy-two percent of Democrats approve of labor unions, compared with 63 percent of independents but only 38 percent of Republicans. Also, most respondents said unions should have more influence (35 percent) or the same amount of influence (28 percent), while 32 percent want to see less union influence. The results reflect what other pollsters have found about public support of unions. More than three-quarters of Americans (77 percent) support strong laws, such as the Employee Free Choice Act, that give employees the freedom to make their own choice about whether to have a union in their workplace without interference from management. Also, some 60 million workers say they would join a union today if they could. Click here for more from the Dec. 1 update by Gallup. from AFL-CIO Now Blog

771 Chapter Meeting

771 has another chapter meeting scheduled for January 10th at MSEA Headquarters, 65 State Street, Augusta from 1 to 3 pm. This meeting is to elect the chapter's delegates and go over chapter business. A postcard, similar to what was sent out to members for the election of officers, will be mailed out to members in mid December. This is for members to make nominations for delegates. 771 now has nine delegates. We need to elect eight more as the president is automatically seated as a delegate. Delegate duties include voting in Area I caucuses, attending and voting at MSEA's Annual Convention. Convention is a fun 2 days conducting MSEA's business as well as getting together with union brothers and sisters from all over the state that you may see only once a year. A great time to catch up and party! Without having a full slate of officers and delegates, our local cannot receive its allotments. Anyone interested in being nominated, please contact me at helen.hnsn@gmail.com or Jay Economy at organizing@mseaseiu.org. Be sure to put something about 771 in the subject line so he'll receive it.

HCAN Meeting with Rep. Mike Michaud

Thanks to MSEA for getting this scheduled! HCAN meeting with Representative Mike Michaud Thursday, December 4 2:30 - 3 pm Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP) Offices 66 Winthrop Street Augusta

Leadership Training through the Kennebec Valley Organization

KVO is offering a half day leadership training to all its member organizations. See the flyer for more information, or visit KVO's website. If you're attending, please email helen.hnsn@gmail.com or Dan Koehler at 873-5844 or at kvo@gwi.net

State Employees offer to pitch in and save money

November 21, 2008 State Employees representing the Executive Branch bargaining units with over 9000 employees came to bargaining today with an offer to help with the budget crisis. State employees who have gone without raises for two years in recent contracts, and consistently accepted raises lower than inflation, today offered to help balance the budget by identifying savings and waste in State government. State employee’s raises have not kept up with inflation for the last ten years consistently leaving them behind the private sector in real income today called for everyone to pitch in. The State employees represented by the MSEA-SEIU manage lifesaving services for children and adults through DHHS, DOT, and Public Safety. All branches of State government provide necessary services to the people of Maine and State employees stand ready to help save tax payer dollars by ending wasteful outsourcing and bloated contracts to out of state companies. “Why send our money out of State, when we can hire Mainers to do the work for less?” said one of the Union negotiators, No one knows how to serve Mainers better than Mainers and we will work with the State to identify areas where money can be saved and funds kept in Maine. When we keep the money in Maine it helps our revenue fo ALL Maine citizens! 'We provide quality services." We want to help cut the tax burden said members of the negotiations team. Many people don't know that some state employees earn so little that they qualify for state services. Even these employees are dedicated to doing their part to get everyone in Maine through these hard times. There are so many examples of waste and opportunities for savings said another member of the executive branch teams. We can find ways to save tax dollars. “State employees pay taxes too and see their neighbors and friends hurting. With the help of their Union State employees have been trying to point out the waste of outsourcing for years and maybe during this crisis the time has come for the legislature to listen to those who know the work best. State employees are your friends and neighbors and they don't want agencies to close and the public suffer. Mainers will still need to register a car, adopt a child, be sure their food is safe, and educate their children. State workers know how fragile the economy is at the moment but they know Maine will weather this downturn better than many States because Mainers will pull together. Saving State services has strikes home when it is made personal. Here is a personal story. Recently two public safety workers working long hours and many unpaid hours on their own time were responsible for tracking down a sexual predator. The detective work rivaled the best of CSI. These two heroes don't make Hollywood salaries, they don't get a bonus for catching a monster. They did it to keep your children safe. No one knows how many children may have been saved from this monster. Last week one of these heroes was told they were scheduled for layoff, after saving children their child would have a mother with no job. I hope the State will work with its citizens to lower costs and I expect the public would question why State agencies would refuse to partner with State employees at no cost in a mutual goal of saving tax dollars. The State is expecting as much as a half billion dollar deficit and our members want to be part of the solution, we have the skills and the people to replace contracted services, saving both jobs and money for the taxpayers of Maine while improving services. The workers' contract does not expire until July 2009 but they are in negotiations now in order help find savings in the coming biennial budget. State employees know they find ways to save the State millions of dollars. They are willing to commit the resources to make this happen. Update: Saturday November 22 Ground Breaking Meeting of Executive, Judicial, and Community College bargaining units. In a show of solidarity and strength the three bargaining units that are most closely associated with the biennial budget process met on Saturday to share their concerns, their talents, and to build solidarity. The theme developed was "The best for the largest number, regardless of bargaining unit". This unprecedented meeting will lead to more sharing in the future and make it harder to pit one unit against another. "We all share common interests and we all want to help each other" said one of the Union team members. from Union Maine's blog . . . thanks Tom!

Canadian Home Care Workers Face Same Issues

I found this video on union brother Tom Maher's blog; Union Maine. See the video of Canadian Home Care Workers. It is amazing to see that our neighbors to the north, although in a different country with different laws and customs, are facing the same issues home care workers here face. Low pay and compensation due to low funding. We're all in the same boat. The RFP process mentioned in this video sounds too familiar!

771's Officers for 2009

771 has two incumbent officers and two new officers. This is exciting as 771 has a full slate of officers again. Re-elected were Helen Hanson for President and Joe Berry for Vice President. Newly elected were Ted Rippy for Secretary and Pat Crowell for Treasurer. 771 has a strong team of leaders. We will continue working with the Direct Care Worker Coalition, Maine PASA and the Kennebec Valley Organization in efforts to gain better working conditions and better care for our consumers. On thing I failed to mention, KVO awarded MSEA-SEIU a certificate of appreciation as MSEA was the top donor in this year's fundraising campaign. Thank you MSEA. For more on KVO's Annual Convention click here.

State's insurance superintendent cites need to change how industry operates

SKOWHEGAN -- Closer oversight of companies and better information for consumers -- those are among the goals from the top state official who oversees Maine's insurance industry. Without any changes, more and more people will not have the safety net they need, and that could be a matter of life and death, Mila Kofman said. "How will we explain this to future generations? To our grandchildren?" Kofman said. "There is no transparency in private health coverage. Consumers don't have enough information to make informed choices." Kofman, superintendent of the Maine Bureau of Insurance, delivered her remarks during a keynote address Sunday night at the fourth annual convention for Kennebec Valley Organization, held at the Centenary United Methodist Church in Skowhegan. About 30 people attended the event, and Kofman urged audience members to be activists on health-care issues. Kennebec Valley Organization includes religious congregations, labor union locals and community and small business groups, and its members have been pushing for the very changes Kofman talked about. Kofman's agency aims to protect the public through regulation and oversight of the insurance industry, examining companies' finances, products and policies. Before she was appointed the state's insurance superintendent in March, Kofman was an assistant research professor at the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, leading studies on problems within the health care industry. During her talk, Kofman noted there are an estimated 47 million uninsured people in the United States and 20,000 people die each year of preventable deaths. She rattled off a laundry list of problems with private health insurance: It's largely unaffordable for lower- and middle-income people; consumers don't have access to full copies of a policy before they enroll; policy language is confusing; and benefits can be cut back even after enrollment. What to do? Expanding Maine's public insurance under Dirigo Health is probably unlikely because of state budgets shortfalls, Kofman said. But her agency will focus on several legislative initiatives, including: • Requiring insurance companies to provide full coverage contracts before enrollment and posting it on their Web sites. • Conducting a regular analysis of whether companies are complying with current laws and standards. • Investigating whether companies are unfairly targeting the elderly. To highlight the problems with private insurance, Kofman also used an example that she recently encountered: A patient with cancer needed chemotherapy treatment that cost $5,500 for a single injection. The patient's insurance covered only a maximum $1,500 each day. "If you ask me, that's not real insurance; that's not real coverage," Kofman said. "It won't save your life." Scott Monroe -- 487-3288, 861-9253 smonroe@centralmaine.com published in Morning Sentinel Monday, November 17, 2008

HEALTH CARE 101

KVO's Health Care Team, in an effort to better understand how the health care system works, is getting some help from Doug Clopp and Steve Kelleher. Doug and Steve both have extensive backgrounds in health care policy. The Health Care Team thought that they were the right choice to help us learn more about the current health care system. The first "class" was on the basics; the difference between providers, payers, and consumers; as well as an introduction to the cost/access/quality triangle. These learning sessions prove to be very interesting and very informational. Members of KVO's member groups are encouraged to attend if you want to learn more about the health care system in the US and in Maine. Our next "class" is Tuesday, Nov. 25th from 6-8 pm at the St. Francis Parish Hall on Elm Street in Waterville. If you want to attend, please contact me helen.hnsn@gmail.com or KVO's lead organizer Dan Koehler at dan.koehler2@gmail.com or at 272-2083.

Homemaking RFP Update

Tuesday, November 18th, was the second hearing on the appeal on the decision of DHHS's Office of Elder Services to award the Homemaking contract to Catholic Charities of Maine instead of the current service provider, Home Care for Maine. The appeal panel got to hear testimony from Catholic Charities. Home Care for Maine continued to make the point that Catholic Charities was over budget in five of the eight districts on which it provided proposals for. The next step is for both sides to submit closing summaries to the appeal board by 3 pm on November 25. The appeal board will start reviewing the case on December 1st and have fifteen days in which to make its decision. We will know if Home Care for Maine will continue to provide the homemaking services by mid December. In the meantime, Home Care for Maine will continue to be the service provider until January 31st.

771's Elections

A reminder, 771 is holding its annual election of officers next Saturday, November 22 at MSEA Headquarters at 65 State Street in Augusta from 1 to 3 pm. 771 is giving away a door prize of a $50 gas card to one lucky meeting attendee. Yes, you must be present to win. 771 will have social time and lunch with MSEA's Kids First chapter before our meeting begins. This is a great opportunity to meet child care providers, share stories and have some good food.

Massachusetts Businesses prove critics Wrong on Health Care Reform

Fears that businesses in Massachusetts would stop providing employee health insurance because publicly subsidized insurance is available are unfounded, according to a new report from the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. Two years after Massachusetts enacted its landmark health-care reform; four out of five Massachusetts businesses provide health-care coverage to their employees, increasing from 73 percent in spring 2007 to 79 percent in spring 2008. This law has resulted in over 439,000 people getting insurance coverage since the plan started! The state’s health-care reform act was enacted in April 2006. To ensure that all of the state’s residents have health insurance, the state expanded its Medicaid program; established a sliding-fee scale for insurance; required residents to purchase health insurance if affordable coverage is available; and required employers with 10 or more workers to contribute to their employees’ coverage or pay into a state fund. There’s been concern that employers would stop providing coverage to their workers and opt to pay into the state fund, but this new report shows that didn’t happen. This is good news for advocates pushing for public/private reform strategies. Carol Regan Director Health Care for Healthcare Workers

Update on Federal Health Care Legislation

This is exciting news . . . Yesterday, Families USA held a call with John McDonough, Senator Kennedy’s staff person in charge of developing his health reform legislation. Several things came out of that that are worth sharing: · The Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and the Finance Committee, chaired by Kennedy and Baucus, respectively, have been working together and are both committed to moving universal health care in 2009 · Senator Baucus has a white paper coming out next week outlining what his legislation may look like. Enclosed is the letter he sent yesterday to President-elect Obama · Staffs of both committees are meeting with Obama’s staff, and HELP has held numerous stakeholder meetings to get input on four categories of reform: Coverage, Quality, Prevention (including population based approaches) and Financing. · We were all encourage to contact our member of Congress to convey a sense of public urgency on the need to do reform and not wait · They expect to be fully engaged by January 20th. · SCHIP: Needs to be reauthorized by April 1st. Options under consideration include: do a quick extender and then fold it into a broader reform later on in the year; do it immediately and get an early “win” for the new Administration, or put SCHIP into an economic stimulus package. There was a bit of a discussion of workforce issues, but as you can imagine, they are particularly focused on access to primary care. Long-term care did not come up. One other thing of note: Connie Garner is the staff lead for Senator Kennedy on disability issues which is likely to include access to home and community based services. Senator Baucus' letter to President-Elect Obama President-Elect Barack Obama Washington, DC 20270 Dear Mr. President-Elect, My sincerest congratulations on your victory in this week’s election. As we celebrate the coming of historic and much-needed change in our national leadership, I know that you and I agree: work must begin immediately on fulfilling the promises that we have made, as leaders, to the American people. For this reason, I write to inform you that as Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, next week I will present to you and to the country my plan to move forward on health care reform in the early days of the 111th Congress and of your administration. As you know, the Senate Finance Committee has jurisdiction over Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and other health entitlement programs. I intend to work with you and with my colleagues on the Finance Committee, as well as with the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and relevant Committees in the House, to finalize a comprehensive health reform plan that can pass the Congress and be put on your desk in a timely fashion for signature into law. The analysis and outlook that I will unveil next week will detail specific policy areas and proposals on which I believe the Congress must move forward to achieve successful health care reform – from options for strengthening the employer-based system and reforming the delivery of health care for efficiency and quality to existing ideas on comparative effectiveness research and health information technology. These proposals will be built on the key principles that I have identified as essential to successful reform: - Universal Coverage: Our challenge is to find a mix of public and private solutions that will allow every single American to receive affordable, quality health care. - Sharing the Burden: As neither the employer-based system nor the individual market can fulfill the demand for affordable, portable, quality coverage, we must seek to ensure affordable coverage through pooling arrangements. I will outline various types of pooling arrangements that may help individuals and businesses afford quality coverage. - Controlling costs: As America cannot sustain its current rate of growth in health care spending, I will detail options in the tax code, in savings, and in other areas where efficiencies may be found to reduce the growth of health care costs. Our economy and our nation’s global competitiveness depend on success in this area. - Prevention: Remaking our health care system with prevention at its foundation can avoid both needless suffering and the high costs of treating an illness that has been allowed to progress. I will outline a new focus on preventive care. - Shared Responsibility: Individuals, employers, and the government must all play a part in the creating and funding of a new health care system. I intend to enumerate specific roles and opportunities for all to share the burden. Many of my reform objectives as Finance Committee Chairman will dovetail with your own health plan; in the places where our opinions and policy plans diverge, I am eager to work with you to achieve consensus. My staff is already in contact with your transition team and has made plans for a thorough briefing on our work product next week. I look forward to meeting with you personally in the coming weeks to discuss this further. As your candidacy and election have been historic, so I hope that your first term and the 111th Congress will be historic for their success in the achievement of comprehensive health care reform that finally makes health care accessible and affordable for every American. Sincerely yours, Max Baucus (D-Mont.) Chairman Senate Finance Committee I received this piece of exciting news in an email from Carol Regan of PHI.

Home Care for Maine Homemaking RFP Appeal

The date for the next appeal hearing is Nov. 18. At this time, I do not have the location or the time.

The Elections are over . . . now's the time to get down to business

771 will elect its new officers on November 22. A chapter meeting/election will take place at MSEA Headquarters in Augusta from 1-3 pm. 771 will have a door prize of a $50 gas card going to a lucky member. In order to win it, you must be present. Home Care for Maine members of 771 need to start thinking about their contract with HCM. That will also be discussed at the meeting on Nov. 22. If you're interested in being nominated for an executive office or a delegate, please contact me helen.hnsn@gmail.com and I'll pass the word to our organizers. Also, if you want to serve on the bargaining team for HCM, do the same, contact me helen.hnsn@gmail.com and I'll get the word to our rep. Here's the email I received from Owen about our bargaining team and upcoming negotiations. Helen, We need to start, if you all haven't already, putting together a Bargaining Committee for your next successor contract. Your current Collective Bargaining Agreement ends June 30, 2009. I suggest we put together a Bargaining Committee this month elected by your Unit's members to review the current contract to consider proposals from your unit members and Bargaining Committee members to amend or change it for the better. This may take a few meetings on the Bargaining Committee's part, but I would like to have suggested non-economic language changes regarding hours or working conditions (if any) completed by the first of the year but in no event later than January 31, 2009. Then I can mail our Demand to Negotiate Letter to Mollie Baldwin over at Home Care for Maine requsting financial information that we (our Bargaining Committee) would need to determine any suggested economic changes regarding wages. At that point, we would be well on the way to begin scheduling actual face-to-face bargaining sessions with HCM Management. Please share this email with anyone you know in your Unit who would be interested in being on this Bargaining Committee. ---Owen Sullivan, Field Representative MSEA-SEIU Local 1989

Today's the day - GET OUT AND VOTE

Vote No on Question 1

Health coverage, quality care most important issues As a local physician, I appreciate the opportunity to address concerns about Question 1. On Election Day, Maine voters will decide what is more important to them: preserving and expanding health coverage for Maine families, children and small businesses; lowering the current assessment of health claims; providing rate reform to 40,000 Mainers who pay for their own health insurance; or pennies on a glass of wine, a beer or soda.

I think the choice is clear. And the choice became clearer last Thursday (Oct. 23).

That was when the Chamber of Commerce filed a lawsuit in Kennebec County Superior Court to overturn the previous funding formula for the Dirigo initiatives.

The lawsuit shows the true colors of the Yes on 1 campaign. Maine voters should be outraged that they have been deceived by the Yes on 1 side.

For months, the campaign has said no one would lose coverage if Question 1 passes because the law will revert to the previous funding by the savings offset payment. Now it has sued the state of Maine to get rid of that funding.

If successful on the ballot and in court, Maine’s noble attempt to expand coverage will be dead. It will be a sad day.

It will also be an expensive day. If health coverage suffers, everyone’s pocketbooks suffer.

At least now we see the real intention behind the campaign – to eliminate the Dirigo initiatives.

Where will those 18,000 people who are currently covered go? Where will the 700 businesses that are enrolled get insurance to cover their employees? Where will the 1,500 people waiting to get into Dirigo go?

We have been part of the political deception – another reason to vote “no” on Question 1.

The Kennebec Journal took exception to the process the Legislature used to enact the new funding, which replaces the old funding.

The beverage tax had been recommended by the 2006 Blue Ribbon Commission on Dirigo. The commission recommendations were presented by its chairwoman, Sandra Featherman, a former president of the University of New England, to the Legislature’s Insurance Committee in 2007.

The beverage company lobbyists had more than a year to lobby legislators on this issue. The Commission Report was a public document and the eight commission meetings were public and well attended.

The Legislature’s final action on the proposal should not have been a surprise to anyone.

The newspaper’s editorial took exception to the statement that the drinks being taxes are unhealthy. But you must look at the toll that alcoholism and sweetened beverages take on our health-care system. Maine spends more that $350 million treating obesity and its complications. When alcohol-related illnesses are considered, more than half a billion dollars in health-care costs are involved.

Fed Up With Taxes is a clever sound bite, but its success will put at risk health-care coverage and access to quality care will actually increase the assessment on our own premiums. I’ll gladly pay the few extra pennies.

Unfortunately, the newspaper’s editorial did not mention several benefits of the new law. The revenue generated by the legislation is dedicated funding that supports not only the Dirigo Health Program but also the changes in the individual health insurance market. About 40,000 Mainers currently pay for their health insurance because they do not get it from their employers. The new law offers them rate reductions.

So, if Yes on 1 succeeds, those 40,000 Mainers will not get their much needed reforms. If you are one of those 40,000 people, you should be upset that the national beverage industries are trying to take your rate reforms away.

Please vote “no” on Question 1. MAINE COMPASS Maroulla Gleaton, M.D., of Palermo, practices ophthalmology in Augusta. Kennebec Journal, Tuesday, October 28, 2008, page A5

Tax foes raise $3.5M Group seeks to kill beverage tax, which helps pay for Dirigo

AUGUSTA -- Fed Up With Taxes, the group behind Question 1 on the Nov. 4 ballot, has raised $3.5 million to fund a campaign to overturn taxes on beer, wine, soda and other flavored drinks, according to campaign finance reports filed Friday. Fed Up With Taxes, which is backed by beverage companies, convenience store owners and the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, is spending money on advertisements, tracking polls, T-shirts and campaign signs. On the other side of the question, Health Coverage for Maine has raised almost $190,000. During this reporting period, their biggest contributor was the Maine State Employees Association, which gave $10,000. Health Coverage for Maine is a coalition that includes AARP, the AFL-CIO and the Maine Medical Association. The group has received a total of $9,400 in in-kind services from Ursus Media Group, of Waterville, which produced advertisements for the campaign. One week from today, voters will be asked to decide Question 1, which reads: "Do you want to reject the parts of a new law that change the method of funding Maine's Dirigo Health Program through charging health insurance companies a fixed fee on paid claims and adding taxes to malt liquor, wine and soft drinks?" Fed Up With Taxes got its major contributions in October from: *Coca-Cola: $655,058 *Maine Beer and Wine Wholesalers: $350,000 *Pepsi: $172,715 *Anheuser-Busch Co.: $120,000 Susan Cover -- 620-7015 scover@centralmaine.com Kennebec Journal, Tuesday, October 28, 2008 I urge you to look at who is contributing money to the vote yes on Question 1 campaign and consider this. . .do these companies and corporations stand to lose anything? No. Do the folks on Dirigo and those waiting to get on it stand to lose? Yes.

Labor Walk in Brewer

The Eastern Maine Labor Council is hosting a Labor Walk this Saturday, Nov. 1 from 9 - 11:30. Breakfast will be available starting at 8:30. Join Maryanne Turowski and Jimmy Cook from MSEA. I encourage 771 members in the Bangor area who can make it to turnout in support of your union and labor in general. The Eastern Maine Labor Council is located at 20 Ivers Street in Brewer. For more information, call 989-4141.

Direct-care workers need insurance; vote ‘no’ on 1

I have been following the recent debate surrounding Dirigo. I’m a direct-care worker and help keep elderly folk living in their homes. I don’t make tons of money and have no health insurance through my job. My husband and I buy our own catastrophic coverage so we won’t lose our house if one of us gets sick. It doesn’t cover much, but I’m healthy. However, I’ve lived with the threat of cancer my whole life. If I were to learn that I might have cancer, I will have to leave my job in search of one with health insurance. Right now, there is a shortage of direct-care workers in our state to care for our elderly and disabled because workers are leaving their jobs and new people are not coming in. If health insurance were in the picture, maybe direct-care workers could afford to stay at their jobs – and maybe younger people would think about direct care as an opportunity. For the past two years, the Direct Care Worker Coalition has been working with the legislature to amend Dirigo so that it would work better for direct-care workers. Our efforts failed due to the lack of funding for Dirigo. Repealing a potential funding source in the beverage tax for the state’s only health insurance plan is not the answer. I hope voters will vote NO on Question One in November and our elected officials take health insurance on as a top priority next year. We need it. Letter to the Editor, published Wednesday, October 29, 2008; Kennebec Journal submitted by Helen Hanson

Join fellow MSEA-SEIU members at KVO's Annual Conference

Sunday, November 16, 4-6pm A delicious soup and bread supper to follow! Centenary United Methodist Church 112 Dr. Mann Road, Skowhegan We hope members, friends and allies will all join us for our annual convention in just over two weeks, where we will: * Celebrate our progress in the past year on health care issues and creating the Mid Maine Time Bank; * Honor Fr. Moe Morin and Rev. George Hodgkins, Jr. - two leaders who have been active in KVO since before our Founding Event but have sadly left our Valley; * Hear from a keynote speaker on health care (TBA); * Recognize our many donors, sponsors, and volunteer fundraisers who are helping to make our fundraising campaign a success; * Conduct the important business of the organization, including electing officers and board members and ratifying our issue priorities; * Have fun, reconnect with old acquaintances, meet new people, enjoy some free babysitting (please call to let us know if you plan to bring kids), savor a delicious meal, talk about the 2012 election (just kidding). Look for more information and flyers to come soon. Start spreading the word!

HCAN ACTION UPDATE: 96 calls to Maine Senators

KVO leaders and our partners in the Maine HCAN coalition answered the call on last Wednesday's national health care call-in day, creating a groundswell of nearly 100 phone calls to our Senators' offices voicing the need for health care reform in the 2009 session. We generated as many calls as the rest of the New England states combined... Thanks to all who called in - it really does make a difference!

Comparison of Democrat vs Republican Health Care Plans

The Democratic Platform The underlying principles set out in the Democratic platform’s section on health care begins with making sure every man, woman and child has access to quality, affordable health care. It also includes: Affordable quality health care is essential to making workers productive and businesses competitive; Affordable coverage should be subsidized through tax credits and other means; Health care coverage should be a shared responsibility between the worker, employers, insurers, providers and government; Disparities in health coverage should be ended among minorities and low-income people; Americans should have a choice between keeping their private coverage and public health plans; and Government should ensure that all Americans should have meaningful and affordable coverage. The Democratic plan also addresses the need to build a strong health care workforce, specifically mentioning direct-care workers as part of that workforce. The Republican Platform The Republican platform calls for: Disease prevention programs and health information technology to improve care; Individual choice of plans and providers; Malpractice reform; Rewarding good providers; Cost containment through competition; Funding medical research; Providing tax credits to families to purchase insurance, including Health Savings Accounts and high-deductible health plans; and Financing expanded coverage by taxing employee benefits. Conclusions While many details are yet to be worked out for both of these platforms, the principles outlined in the Democratic platform line up best with what HCHCW has found works best in expanding coverage to low-income direct-care workers and their families. Specifically, HCHCW has found, health care plans must be: Accessible to all individuals regardless of their family, their employment status, or how many hours they work; Affordable for workers and their employers, with limited cost sharing for workers earning low wages; and Adequate, with a full range of benefits and individual services to protect older workers, whose with chronic health conditions, and injured workers. For more information on the essential elements of a health care plan for the direct-care workforce, read Expanding Coverage for Caregivers: A Checklist for State Health Care Reform (pdf). Allison Lee National Campaign Manager ALee@phinational.org response from the Direct Care Alliance's Roy Gedat I actually know people here in the USA who have died because they could not afford timely care and put off going to the doctor till it was too late. The greatest irony is that people who provide home and institutional health care are too often uncovered by our broken system. How many people are dying in the UK and Canada because they are waiting for common surgeries? Hopefully the USA will someday join the rest of the world and assure every citizen the health care they need. I think we need to get the profit out of health care all together. We can bail out the mortgage companies…. why can’t we have a comprehensive health care system that works?

We, Here in Maine, Are Not Alone . . .

Pennsylvania State Senate Lets Health Care Plan Die The Pennsylvania Senate leadership did not allow a vote on any health care bills before leaving Harrisburg for the year, therefore precluding a vote on Pennsylvania Access to Basic Care (PA-ABC), a health care reform bill that would have provided health care and prescription drug benefits to more than 250,000 uninsured Pennsylvanians, including direct care workers. Since the House approved PA-ABC last spring, the Senate has repeatedly criticized the plan for its failure to secure a long-term funding source beyond five years. More recently, as state revenues decreased and the economy collapsed, Senators were hesitant to support a major expansion of a public program like PA-ABC. The Health Care for Health Care Workers Campaign, along with other allied organizations, advocated that the possibility of having to cut funding for PA-ABC in five years should not deny thousands who need reliable health care now. Funding for PA ABC was to come from health account surpluses, smokeless tobacco taxes, and federal Medicaid spending. PA-ABC failed not because of lack of funding but because special interest groups refused to support it. By providing affordable health insurance, PA-ABC would have created a way for uninsured direct care workers to get treatment that they may have delayed and allowed them to begin a pattern of primary care and prevention. Our entire health care system would have become more efficient as a result. The Health Care for Health Care Workers Campaign will continue to work on this issue until meaningful health care reform becomes a reality. We encourage all direct workers, providers, and consumers in Pennsylvania to express their disappointment to their state Senators. You can reach your Senator by going to http://www.legis.state.pa.us/ and plugging in your zip code. Tracy Lawless Pennsylvania State Campaign Coordinator Health Care for Health Care Workers tlawless@phinational.org One Response from a CNA/Nursing Student I believe that all people should have the basic human right to recieve the medical care that they need. I also think that the unfortunate people who get an expensive disease like cancer shouldn't have to lose their house, and go into absolute financial ruin to recieve this care. As a future nurse and CNA, I agreed with Barack Obama's analysis that many uninsured or underinsured are forced to go to the ER at astronomical costs for ailments that could be more appropriately be adressed often at an urgent care facility for 100 or 150$. Taxpayers absorb this cost in either scenario…I would rather these people have some coverage and pay 100-200$ then the ER fees. I would be hard pressed to vote for any republican today, despite the fact that dems are not perfect either. I dont think republicans make decisions unless it lines their pocket with money these days. I could never support a candidate that will not help poor people. It is a joke that people expect someone with 2 kids earning 9 dollars an hour at mcdonalds who has to pay for childcare, rent, etc could ever get out of that situation without help. Employers like that try to keep the worker just under the hours required so that they don't have to give them insurance. I pose a question that I would like anyone that wants to, to address. I am a college student, a senior in a nursing program which is 32 hours per week minium class time plus many hours of homework required. I also work as much as I can, usually another 24-32 hours. I cannot work 40 so I cannot get healthcare. I am 28 years old. My choice then is between getting a degree so that i can improve my future or working full time so that i can go to the doctor if i get sick. This is a huge loophole that no one seems to notice. I think that someone like me who is working almost full time and doing full time school should be allowed to go to the doctor if they get sick! (I think all people should be able to go to the doctor if they get sick!) It is a FACT that a large percentage (I think up to 80%) of those uninsured are hard working middle class people! My final point is that healthcare workers work with people that are in the most frail state of health. PA is has the 3rd largest elderly population in the nation. Elderly people have weaker immune systems then younger people. Healthcare workers must be able to get treatment for their sicknesses so that they do not bring that into the nursing home or hospital where they work! It would probablly save money too for us to be able to go to a 100$ dollar office visit versus having an elderly person get sick and have to go to the hospital for thousands of dollars. At the county nursing home that I work, you may not call off sick unless you have a doctors note more then 3 times per year. Many workers just come into work sick rather then lose their job. Keep up the job PHI! While I am deeply sad that this healthcare bill failed, I believe that one day soon this legislation will pass! I got this in an email newsletter from Carol Regan at PHI. Thanks Carol! It is great to see that we DCWs here in Maine are not alone in our struggle to gain health insurance.

Home Care for Maine's RFP Appeal Hearing

This has previously been posted on Wednesday, 10/22; thought I'd post it again FYI. Thanks! Today was Home Care for Maine's appeal hearing on the Homemaker Services contract that was awarded to Catholic Charities of Maine. The morning started off by hearing testimony from Mollie Baldwin, Home Care for Maine's CEO. She was crossed examined by the State and by Catholic Charities attorneys. After a recess for lunch, Vicki Mihalik, HCM's program director, provided testimony on behalf of Home Care for Maine. She was also cross examined by the State and Catholic Charities attorneys. The State presented its testimony and that took the remainder of the afternoon as it's witnesses were cross examined by Home Care for Maine's and Catholic Charities'. Catholic Charities did not present its case as the session ran out of time.They will at a following session continuing the RFP hearing in November. Sometime during the week of November 17th will be the next hearing with Catholic Charities presenting its case. As soon as I know the date and time, I'll post it. I found this to be a very interesting day. I learned a lot about this RFP process that our agency goes through when it puts a proposal out to be a service provider. This particular RFP was with the Office of Elder Services. On another note, Mollie did tell me that we workers will get our quarterly stipend, even with the reduction in hours we've recently gone through with our homemaking cases. That's some good news I'm happy to pass along. As soon as I get the date for the next RFP hearing, I'll post it.

For elders, staying independent can be difficult as care needs increase

Staff photo by Thomas Michael Corcoran GLAD TO BE HOME: Jeannette Ross sits in her wheelchair in her kitchen in Waterville on Saturday night. Ross didn’t mind a recent stay in the hospital, but when it became longer than she expected, she became irritated. WATERVILLE -- Jeannette Ross didn't mind going into the care facility at first.

Ross, an 85-year-old Waterville native, had gone through two hip operations and was grateful for the medical and physical-therapy assistance she received in the skilled unit -- the section where patients with more profound or immediate medical needs are housed -- of the establishment.

But after three months of rehabilitation, Ross no longer needed the same level of medical attention. That's when they moved her to the long-term care section of the facility.

Ross was not happy about the move.

"You might as well die to live in there," she said. "The people are there because they can't do anything for themselves, and they sit around in their chairs like there is no tomorrow. They wanted to put me in there, because they didn't think I was able to go home."

Ross, though, managed to get out.

Today she lives at home, in a Waterville apartment her brother owns. She is able to live independently with the help of two direct-care workers who provide 29 hours of assistance a week. That enables her to tend to flowers and do her cooking and live her life the way she sees fit.

Ross said she feels sorry for those in institutional care.

"Home is where you want to be as long as you have health," she said. "I'm lucky to have the women to help me. You don't want to leave your home and go somewhere else to live if your mind is still alert. As long as my mind is alert, with the help from the girls, I should be able to stay home. Nobody wants to leave their home. Nobody."

Funding discrepancy

The AARP Public Policy Institute examined how states use Medicaid money to fund long-term care services and support for older people and adults with physical disabilities.

What the institute found nationally is that funding favors institutions over home and community based care by about a 3 to 1 margin.

The same proportion held true in Maine. In 2006, Maine spent $78 million on home and community based care, while using $247 million on nursing homes.

Lenard W. Kaye, director of the University of Maine Center on Aging, said government is beginning to awaken to the value of home care for the elderly, but acknowledged that a funding imbalance remains between that option and institutional care.

"The amount of dollars set aside to fuel those programs," he said of support services to families, "is limited and continues to be a very small percentage of the long-term care budget compared to institutional settings."

On the other hand, the number of Medicaid patients in Maine who opted for home or community-based programs grew dramatically between 1999 and 2004, according to the AARP Public Policy Institute.

In 1999, the number stood at 935,160. By 2004, the total had jumped to 1,337,010, an increase of more than 400,000.

Medicaid patients in nursing homes, in contrast, grew by only 91,877, rising from 1,615,695 to 1,707,572.

Service shortage

The Blue Ribbon Commission to Study the Future of Long-term Home-based and Community-based Care is an effort to better meet the needs of those trying to care for elderly loved ones.

But one of the chief problems is finding enough money to meet the demand.

At a meeting last month in Augusta, the commission said 657 people are on a waiting list for homemaker services and 685 are on hold for home-based care services.

Yet a study by the state Office of Elder Services revealed that the average monthly cost for a Medicaid-eligible person in a nursing home is nearly $4,000 compared to $1,686 for a person who received assistance at home.

Jeanne Allen, a certified nursing assistant, is one of the professionals who helps Ross remain independent in her Waterville apartment.

Allen said she stays in the profession because she sees it as a calling. But she realizes that she tends to be the exception. Many CNAs and direct-care workers abandon the profession because of the low pay and lack of benefits.

"I'm just a different breed of CNA," Allen said, "because I really, really care about the people I take care of."

Allen said she knows many direct care agencies have high turnover rates. She said she knows of one that lost eight workers in one day.

"We have a serious shortage of long-term care workers in part because we have not made the career path very attractive," Kaye of the Center on Aging said. "Salaries are low, opportunities for advancement limited, and the benefits are less than you'd like to see them -- and the work is hard."

Family bonds

Joanne Miller runs a home care agency as well as a company, Homeshare Inc., that runs two community-based houses for older adults -- one in Owls Head, the other in Cushing.

The idea, she said, is to provide the elderly with an environment that is more like a home than an institution. Tenants contract with a separate agency for medical and personal services.

"I believe this is the wave of the future," Miller said. "I'd like to see a homestead in every community. These people become like a family unit. They care about each other."

So far, though, the homesharing opportunities are limited because there are no public dollars to support such approach, she said.

Her clients, she said, are people with enough financial resources to afford the rent. Most also have private health insurance to help them pay for any medical or personal services they need to access.

Several decades ago, back when extended families were more likely to live in one area, multiple generations within a family were more likely to live under the same roof.

Miller said that arrangement made for a healthier, happier society. That is a model of long-term care, she said, that society needs to embrace once more. "We have to start paying attention to what is really important," she said. "We have to value old age. Our old people should be revered, respected and taken care of. That is what we need to get back to. This can't be a burden. This can't be a chore. This has to be a labor of love."

Colin Hickey -- 861-9205 Morning Sentinel Sunday, October 19, 2008

Skowhegan political rally planned

This is from the Morning Sentinel "Updates" section posted on Friday Oct. 24 By Darla Pickett Morning Sentinel Staff Writer October 24, 2008 SKOWHEGAN --State and national candidates will rally in Skowhegan Saturday night to talk about the economy and the needs of the middle class, according to Brad Saucier, spokesman for the Maine State Employees Association. Soucier said Republicans and Democrats have been invited to join a 7 p.m. rally and candlelight vigil on Water Street in the downtown and then move to the Sun Rayz Tanning building on Water Street for a 7:30 p.m. press conference. Speakers are expected to include U.S. Senate candidate Tom Allen, State Rep. Philip Curtis, House 85 candidate Jeffrey McCabe, state house candidate Paul Gilbert, state senate candidate Robert Sezak and several small business owners who will talk about how to help the middle class in today's economy. "The purpose of bringing candidates together is to hear their plans for fixing the economy and supporting the middle class," Bruce Hodsdon, president of the rally's sponsor - Maine State Employees Association, Local 1989 of the Service Employees International Union - said in a prepared statement . "It's great to have candidates from both major parties participating in this event." The Maine State Employees Association represents over 15,000 Maine workers, including employees of the Maine Department of Education, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Child Development Services, Governor Baxter School for the Deaf, Alpha One, Home Care for Maine and Child Care Providers statewide. MSEA-SEIU is affiliated with the 2-million member Service Employees International Union.

Why Women Should Vote

This is the story of our Grandmothers and Great-grandmothers; they lived only 90 years ago. Remember, it was not until 1920 that women were granted the right to go to the polls and vote. The women were innocent and defenseless, but they were jailed nonetheless for picketing the White House, carrying signs asking for the vote. And by the end of the night, they were barely alive. Forty prison guards wielding clubs and their warden's blessing went on a rampage against the 33 women wrongly convicted of 'obstructing sidewalk traffic.' Lucy Burns They beat Lucy Burns, chained her hands to the cell bars above her head and left her hanging for the night, bleeding and gasping for air. Dora Lewis They hurled Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her head against an iron bed and knocked her out cold. Her cellmate, Alice Cosu, thought Lewis was dead and suffered a heart attack. Additional affidavits describe the guards grabbing, dragging, beating, choking, slamming, pinching, twisting and kicking the women. Thus unfolded the'Night of Terror' on Nov. 15, 1917, when the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his guards to teach a lesson to the suffragists imprisoned there because they dared to picket Woodrow Wilson's White House for the right to vote. For weeks, the women's only water came from an open pail. Their food--all of it colorless slop--was infested with worms. Alice Paul When one of the leaders, Alice Paul, embarked on a hunger strike, they tied her to a chair, forced a tube down her throat and poured liquid into her until she vomited. She was tortured like this for weeks until word was smuggled out to the press. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/suffrage/nwp/prisoners.pdf So, refresh my memory. Some women won't vote this year because- -why, exactly? We have carpool duties? We have to get to work? Our vote doesn't matter? It's raining? HBO's new movie 'Iron Jawed Angels.' is a graphic depiction of the battle these women waged so that I could pull the curtain at the polling booth and have my say. What would those women think of the way women use, or don't use, our right to vote? All of us take it for granted now, not just younger women, but those of us who did seek to learn.' HBO released the movie on video and DVD . I wish all history, social studies and government teachers would include the movie in their curriculum. We are not voting in the numbers that we should be. It is jarring to watch Woodrow Wilson and his cronies try to persuade a psychiatrist to declare Alice Paul insane so that she could be permanently institutionalized. And it is inspiring to watch the doctor refuse. Alice Paul was strong, he said, and brave. That didn't make her crazy.The doctor admonished the men: 'Courage in women is often mistaken for insanity.' Please, if you are so inclined, pass this on to all the women you know. We need to get out and vote and use this right that was fought so hard for by these very courageous women. Whether you vote democratic, republican or independent party - remember to vote. History is being made.

Home Care for Maine's RFP Appeal Hearing

Today was Home Care for Maine's appeal hearing on the Homemaker Services contract that was awarded to Catholic Charities of Maine. The morning started off by hearing testimony from Mollie Baldwin, Home Care for Maine's CEO. She was crossed examined by the State and by Catholic Charities attorneys. After a recess for lunch, Vicki Mihalik, HCM's program director, provided testimony on behalf of Home Care for Maine. She was also cross examined by the State and Catholic Charities attorneys. The State presented its testimony and that took the remainder of the afternoon as it's witnesses were cross examined by Home Care for Maine's and Catholic Charities. Catholic Charities did not present its case as the session ran out of time. They will at a following session continuing the RFP hearing in November. Sometime during the week of November 17th will be the next hearing with Catholic Charities presenting its case. As soon as I know the date and time, I'll post it. I found this to be a very interesting day. I learned a lot about this RFP process that our agency goes through when it puts a proposal out to be a service provider. This particular RFP was with the Office of Elder Services. On another note, Mollie did tell me that we workers will get our quarterly stipend, even with the reduction in hours we've recently gone through with our homemaking cases. That's some good news I'm happy to pass along. As soon as I get the date for the next RFP hearing, I'll post it.

Support Home Care for Maine's RFP Appeal

Tomorrow's the day. Come and show your support for fellow Home Care for Maine workers, union brothers and sisters that may lose their jobs and the consumers that we serve. The hearing for Home Care for Maine's appeal for the Homemaking Contract is tomorrow, Wednesday, Oct. 22 at 9 am in room 300 of the State Office Building in Augusta.

Ask Senators Snowe and Collins to Support Health Care for All

Congressional Call-In Wednesday, October 22nd

Call Senators Snowe & Collins toll free:

1-888-436-8427

Sample Script:

Hello, my name is ____________ and I live in ___________. I'm calling today because I think fixing the health care system should be the top priority for Congress adn the New President in 2009 and I want to encourage Senator _________ to sign on to the Health Care for America Now campaign. I want to encourage Senator __________ to support guaranteed quality, affordable health care for everyone in Maine and the United States. I'd like Senator ___________ to respond in writing with her position. My address is _________________. Thank you!

Dial again and ask for the other Senator!

HCAN's goal is 100 calls, with your help, we can do it!

The time is now for an American solution that will secure our families' health and a healthy economy.

What is Health Care for America Now?

Health Care for America Now (HCAN) is a national grassroots campaign organizing millions of people in America to win a guarantee of quality, affordable health care for all. Our goal is to build a base of grassroots activism and a national movement that will move our Congress and President to pass substantial health care reform that meets our principles in 2009. In Maine, the campaign is led by Maine People's Alliance, MSEA-SEIU, Maine Women's Lobby, Maine Equal Justice Partners, Engage Maine, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, Equality Maine, Tengo Voz, Centro Latino, Kennebec Valley Organization, Move On, Maine Education Association and Maine Center for Economic Policy.

More information http://www.healthcareforamericanow.org/

ATTENTION Home Care for Maine DCWs

After much discussion it has been decided that Home Care for Maine will be continuing with our 6 hours of required education for calendar year 2008. This means you MUST have 6 HOURS of education for calendar year 2008. If you were hired in 2008, or completed a PSS or Homemaker course in 2008, you do not need to attend. The following is a list of upcoming Area Meetings. As many of you are aware, several of the past meetings have been cancelled due to the lack of attendance. We will be requiring you to choose and attend one of the following meetings. You will be paid for your time and mileage over 20 miles. Your scheduler will work with you to re-schedule your consumers so that you can meet the educational requirements. All Meetings will cover the same material: 9-12 Infection Control/Body Mechanics; Filling shifts, reporting, OES self direct 12-12:30 Lunch (please bring a bag lunch with you) 12:30 -3:30 Understanding Intake and Funding Sources You must attend all 6 hours. Schedule for remaining Area Meetings for 2008 10/21 South Gardiner Baptist Church, Rt 24/River Road, South Gardiner 10/23 Maine Coast Memorial Hospital, 50 Union Street, Ellsworth 11/4 Bangor Career Center, 45 Oak Street, Bangor 11/12 Mid Coast Community Action, 34 Wing Farm Parkway, Bath 11/19 Portland DHHS Building, 161 Marginal Way, Portland 12/2 Belfast Free Library, 106 High Street, Belfast 12/9 Alfred Town Office, 16 Saco Road, Alfred Please note that the Alfred date has been changed from the previously issued calendar. Also, the meeting in South Gardiner has been added. We have also removed the meeting that was scheduled in Houlton, as there are just four workers in that area who will need the 6 hours training. We will work with these four people individually to get their hours completed.

CMS Issues Final Rule, Empowers Beneficiaries

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a final rule that will allow states to use their Medicaid funds for consumer-directed services without a Medicaid waiver. Many more Medicaid beneficiaries will now be able to take charge of their own personal assistance services instead of having those services directed by an agency. This CMS ruling (pdf 263k) guides participating states to allow Medicaid beneficiaries in need of help with the activities of daily living to hire, direct, train, or fire their own personal care workers. Under the new rule, beneficiaries will have the option to hire qualified family members already familiar with the individual’s needs to perform personal assistance (not medical) services. If a state adopts the plan, beneficiaries could receive a cash allowance to hire their own workers to help with bathing, preparing meals, household chores, and other related services that help a person to live independently. Allotments could also be used to purchase items that help foster independence such as a wheelchair ramp or microwave oven. The beneficiaries also have the option of someone else managing their cash allotment. “This new rule should expand the availability of consumer-directed programs, an important development for consumers interested in taking greater control of their own long term care services,” said PHI National Policy Director Steven Edelstein. “But states must also focus on efforts to build and sustain the direct-care workforce necessary to provide these services to ensure that this choice is real and not an unfulfilled promise.” Enrollment in new state plans is voluntary and the state must also provide traditional agency-delivered services if the beneficiary wishes to discontinue self-directed care. The final rule will take effect November 3. Aaron Toleos, Online Communications Directoratoleos@phinational.org

Home Care for Maine's RFP Appeal Hearing Postponed

The Appeal Hearing scheduled for October 14 has been postponed to Wednesday October 22 at 9 am in Room 300 of the State House. Show your support for fellow workers and our agency by being there, if possible. I know direct care workers have a hard time leaving their consumers, but if you're off that morning and are in the Augusta area, come show your support. This is an appeal hearing, open to the public. There will be no testimony from members of the audience, so no public speaking is involved. Please be there.

771's Blog has reached the 1000th Viewer Mark!

771's Blog has had over 1000 hits since I put the counter on it

back in April 2008!

Thanks everyone for checking it out!

Keep looking at it, it's a good thing!

Central ME CATV to Air KVO Candidates Forum on Health Care

Missed the KVO Candidates Forum on Health Care? No problem! Thanks to Central Maine Community Access TV, you can watch it any night this week. CATV plans to air the event at 7:00pm running at least through Wednesday, on Channel 7 in most of Greater Waterville/Somerset Co, and Channel 11 in Fairfield. I believe it will air at 9pm starting Thursday, but I'll try to send program updates as I get them. The KVO steno pool is working hard to transcribe the responses we got from the 12 State House and Senate candidates, and 2 U.S. Congress candidates' representatives, who were with us last Sunday. The quick summary, though, is that we heard YES from everyone - YES that health care is a basic human right, YES that they will meet with us to work on the long-term care crisis, and YES that there needs to be more accountability and transparency in the private insurance sector. It was an exciting meeting, and Dan hopes to have a more detailed update out to you soon (including a list of participating candidates, and links to the text of their responses.) In the meantime, though, we hope you will try to catch it on TV!

Maine's Minimum Wage to Increase

Maine's minimum wage will increase from $7.00 to $7.25 per hour on October 1st. Another increase will take place in October 2009 when the rate rises to $7.50 per hour. The increases are a result of a bill, "An Act to Ensure Fair Wages," passed by the 123rd Legislature. This is the third minimum wage hike signed into law by Governor John Baldacci. According to the Maine Department of Labor, approximately 26,000 Maine workers have earnings at or below the minimum wage. Certain employers are exempt from paying the minimum wage. Tipped employees may be paid one-half provided the employer makes up the difference if tips plus the hourly wage do not average at least the minimum wage. Many states have their own minimum wage laws and an employee subject to both a state and federal minimum wage is entitled to the higher of the two wages. The current federal minimum wage is $6.55 an hour. In July of 2009 the federal minimum wage will increase to $7.25 per hour. The federal minimum wage was established in 1938 and was set at 25 cents per hour. The other New England states' minimum wage rates are: Massachusetts - $8.00; Vermont - $7.68; Connecticut - $7.65; Rhode Island - $7.40; and New Hampshire - $7.25.