Long-Term Care System LEAN Process starts up

The work stemming from LD 1078 started up on Tuesday, Sept. 15th, with the Department of Health and Human Services. DHHS has been instructed to revamp the current home and community based care part of the long-term care system. The current system in place, the current eligibility and intake, and then the way the decision is made as to what care someone needs, and then the way the care is delivered is all under consideration. The eligibility, based on medical and financial information, is currently undergoing a lean process. One thing that has come out of it is the reduction of paperwork used in the process. RN's now have 3 to 6 pages of paperwork to deal with, instead of the 30 or so they had before. The LEAN core team has been selected. This group is mapping the current system, then mapping a future system, then developing an improvement action plan. This core team is made up of consumers, workers, advocates, providers, and members from DHHS. There is also a consumer group meeting. This group is made up of the folks that rely upon the system for the services and care they receive. This group is meeting before the core team starts its work. The people relying on care and services will get to tell DHHS what it is like being in the system, what works for them and what does not. I'm so glad that the people receiving care and services are part of this process. This is so important, they are the ones with the experience, good and bad, in the system. DHHS also put together a worker focus group made up of workers. This group will discuss worker issues raised in the legislation that was worked on this past legislative session. This is also another victory for workers. Workers get the chance to address issues and problems with DHHS. Ted Rippy, Dee Dee Strout from 771 are members of the worker group. Julie Moulton, and Cathy Bouchard from Maine PASA are in the worker group. I am too, representing Maine PASA, KVO, Local 771 and the Direct Care Alliance. This group is diverse in the work they do, thereby providing a wide range of worker insight. A comment was made in this first Lean meeting that more funding needs to be available to providers. DHHS and Jay Hardy from Alpha One both responded that this lean process is working with the current system, with the current funding that is in place. The purpose of the process is to make the system work for the People of Maine. The intent is to look at a complex process and find ways to save time, make the system more efficient. By making it more efficient, we stand to save money. That money can be turned over to workers in the forms of better wages and benefits. This work is very important. I am very pleased and honored to be a part of it. The documents pertaining to the Long-Term Care System Lean Process can be found by clicking the link. Thanks to Cheryl Ring and David Perkins of DHHS for making this information available online.

Signing Ceremony for LD 1078, the bill to Strengthen Maine's Long-Term Supportive Services

Ted Rippy, Local 771's Secretary, is third from the right; Tim Belcher, MSEA's Executive Director is first on the right; seated at the governor's right is 1078's sponsor, Representative Matt Peterson; seated to the governor's left is

Dennis Fitzgibbons, Alpha One's Executive Director

Governor Baldacci hands Representative Matt Peterson the pen he signed the bill with.

LD 1078 looks to make the Long-Term Care system in Maine better by making it more efficient, more portbable and more flexible for the people relying on long-term care.

Maine Grant Brings Coverage to Direct-Care Workers

In a significant victory for the fight for health care coverage for direct-care workers in Maine, the Governor's office announced last week that the state has been awarded a grant of $8.5 million to provide expanded coverage to 3,500 Maine residents - including direct-care workers. The grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will provide $8.5 million a year for up to five years for the state to expand the Dirigo health program to part-time, seasonal, and direct-care workers. Starting in 2010, workers employed by firms that offer health insurance and have over 50 employees will be eligible to receive vouchers to make their employer-sponsored insurance more affordable. The grant also will allow the Dirigo program to develop a special coverage product for workers who are not offered employer-sponsored coverage. This victory comes after a five year campaign waged by members of the Direct-Care Worker coalition. In March of this year, Coalition members pulled together a high stakes meeting of key political leaders to discuss the issue of health insurance and direct-care workers. HCHCW participated in the meeting offering examples from other states and raising the possiblity of applying for the DHHS grant. The participants agreed at the end of the meeting that a solution must be developed and several options were on the table including the ones now funded by the grant. As a direct-care worker and a leader of the Coaliton, Helen Hanson, was on hand for Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’s announcement of the grant at the University of Maine last week. “I heard it with my own ears,” she said. “We will finally be able to provide insure to some of Maine’s uninsured direct-care workers. Today is a significant victory in a very long fight for coverage. But I will not stop until all of Maine’s direct-care workers have coverage.” Helen recently wrote an editorial on the need for federal reform in order to help direct-care workers gain affordable, comprehensive coverage. The Direct-Care Worker Coalition now turns its attention to enrollment and design of the new coverage programs. Allison Lee National Campaign Manager Health Care for Health Care Workers alee@phinational.org

State Government Streamlining Work Continuing

As part of the 2010-2011 biennial budget, members of the Joint Standing Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs assigned themselves the task of finding an additional $30 million in savings in the state budget. This work will continue in three meetings in September, with the committee receiving updates from various departments, including the Department of Education. The committee will also begin to form concrete proposals to present to the rest of the Legislature during the Second Regular Session. from Representative David Cotta House District 55 Albion, part of Benton, China and Unity Township

News Release from Senate Finance Committee

MEMORANDUM September 9, 2009 To: Reporters and Editors From: Scott Mulhauser and Erin Shields for Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Montana) Re: Statement following Finance Committee Democratic Members' Meeting Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) today issued the following statement after meeting with Democratic Finance Committee Members. From Chairman Baucus: “The time has come for action and we will act. We must move forward if we are going to get this bill done by the end of the year. I just met with my Finance Democratic colleagues and laid out the path for moving forward. I will put out a Chairman’s Mark early to mid-next week and I will move the Finance Committee to mark-up health care reform the week after next. This is our moment. We have spent many weeks and months on this crucial issue. Now is the time to move forward.” Jennifer Donohue Press Assistant - U.S. Senate Committee on Finance 219 Dirksen Senate Office Building - Washington, DC 20510 - 202-224-4515 www.finance.senate.gov

Call Congress and tell them to get Real Health Reform done

Teddy Roosevelt first proposed health care for all in the early 1900s. FDR fought for it in the 1930s. LBJ won Medicare and Medicaid in the 1960s but wasn't able to provide coverage for everyone. Bill Clinton tried in the early 1990s. And since Barack Obama was inaugurated in January, Congress has been heatedly debating health care reform.

We've been talking about this issue for over 100 years. Enough talk. It's time to get something done!

Click here to call your Senators and tell them enough politicking, it's time to get real health reform done.

We've already made historic progress. Three committees in the House have passed strong health reform bills and referred them to the floor. And the late Senator Kennedy's committee has passed a strong bill as well.

Still, some in the Senate are waffling and asking for more time. Give them a call and tell them to support Kennedy's HELP bill that will lower our costs, improve our coverage, and give us the choice of a public health insurance option to keep the insurance industry honest.

This week, the Senate is back in DC. Click here to call your Senators right now, when your call can make the most impact!

We've waited long enough. We can get real reform done this year. Call your Senators today and make them do it!

To your health,

Levana Layendecker

Health Care for America Now

President Obama needs to hear from us about the public option. We need to stand up today to make sure President Obama knows that he cannot back away from supporting a robust public health insurance option similar to Medicare. On Wednesday, the president is expected to lay out his vision for health care reform at a joint session of Congress. But there are already troubling signs that the president is prepared to negotiate away a real public option in order to get support from Republicans like Senator Olympia Snowe and the Democratic Blue Dog Caucus. For example, reports came out on Friday that President Obama held a conference call with House progressives and asked them how far they'd compromise on the public option. We need to make sure that President Obama knows that for those of us who support single payer, a robust public option is the compromise. Aside from single payer, a health care bill without a robust public option is just more of the same. Click here to automatically add your name to the above petition asking President Obama to tell Congress and the voters that he will only sign a bill with a robust public option similar to Medicare. Thank you for working to secure real health care reform. Matt Lockshin, Campaign Manager CREDO Action from Working Assets Your message to President Obama: "When it comes to health care reform, the public option is not optional. You campaigned on change and on a health care plan that included a public option. But aside from single payer, a health care bill without a robust public option is just more of the same. If you are sincere about supporting the public plan, tell Congress and the voters that you will not sign a bill without a robust public option similar to Medicare." 121,490 people have already signed this petition. Can you help us get to 150,000 by signing it today?