Safe…for Now

Legislators Spare Services for Seniors and People with Disabilities

Following an outcry by members of SEIU Local 503 and other Oregonians, the legislature’s emergency board voted July 22 to restore cuts to community care for seniors and people with disabilities. The e-board reversed an order by Governor Ted Kulongoski that would have effectively dismantled Oregon’s treasured continuum of long-term care, depriving thousands of clients of the ability to stay in their homes and their care providers of income and health coverage.

But most of the actions only protect services through the end of February and other programs serving vulnerable Oregonians, including subsidized child care for the working poor, remain on the chopping block pending further legislative action.

The July 22 e-board actions:

• preserved medication management, meal preparation and shopping help for 10,500 seniors and people with physical disabilities on Medicaid through February, staving off a 75% cut for those and similar long-term care services.
• restored Oregon Project Independence for 2,000 seniors who depend on OPI to remain in their homes through February, reversing an order to terminate the program now.
• put off elimination of the Personal Care 20 Program, which provides 20 hours a month of in-home care to seniors, people with mental or physical disabilities nd medically fragile children through June.
• stopped a $17 a day cut in nursing home rates through June, assuring that individuals in need of skilled nuyrsing care and those who provide it will not face deteriorating conditions and lost jobs.

Mary Wood, a homecare worker from Lincoln City and president of the SEIU Local 503 homecare local, warned members: “Oregon still faces a major budget deficit next biennium. We must encourage Congress to extend the enhanced Medicaid match to help fund most of these important services and we need to re-elect legislators who stood up and saved these vital programs serving Oregon’s most vulnerable."

Services are safe for now, but funding for all these programs is set to expire next year.

Please take action today: thank your Oregon legislators for preserving funding for now, and urge Congress to increase federal matching funds to preserve services in the future:

http://seiu503.seiu.org/page/speakout/2010homecarefunding_wyden

Download more information about the programs that were saved (Emergency Board Adjustments) here

Tell your story! Download story forms here and return them to your union organizer.

Homecare worker story form     Homecare client story form