One of the many hats worn by Maria Samuels is the advocacy hat. The Executive Director of WDOM spent February 12 in Albany meeting with legislators to fight for WDOM funding and two bills to ensure People with Disability can live independently. WDOM is one of 41 statewide Independent Living Centers (ILCs) that, once again, need to get increased funding.
The message from Albany is clear. “The much-needed services for People with Disabilities are perhaps not that important,” says Ms. Samuels. The increase requested is $2 million out of the $229 billion State budget. The $2 million would be divided between the 41 centers; for WDOM, that means $48,000 — barely enough to cover the salary of a social worker.
“We are not even getting the small 1.5% cost of living adjustment given to all the human services agencies. My staff is committed and dedicated. They deserve living wages!” Samuels adds.
WDOM’s mission includes informing and educating about events and legislation affecting the disability community. Two bills currently in Albany are worth monitoring. The first is
- Fair Pay For Home Care, to get equitable pay for home care workers. New York faces the worst home care shortage nationwide because of low wages. Yet instead of investing in home care, New York State has wasted nearly 6 billion dollars in the past four years alone, paying private insurance companies to mismanage Medicaid home care — getting nothing in return and worsening the home care crisis for countless older adults and disabled New Yorkers.
- The second one is the Home Care Savings & Reinvestment Act. This bill will stop the State from wasting billions on private insurance companies by removing these ineffective middlemen, returning home care management directly to the State, and freeing up billions to invest directly into home care wages. The Home Care Savings & Reinvestment Act would save New York State between $25 and $32 billion over the next ten years.
Below are the Westchester legislators sponsoring the two bills that will make a critical difference in preventing institutionalization.
FAIR PAY FOR HOME CARE ACT
Senate Bill S3189A
Assembly Bill A8821
Enacts the “fair pay for home care act” relating to minimum wages applicable to home care aides; provides for a minimum wage of 150% of the applicable statewide or regional minimum wage.
STATE SENATORS
Jamaal T. Bailey
Nathalia Fernandez
Pete Harckham
Shelley B. Mayer
ASSEMBLY MEMBERS
Chris Burdick
Amy Paulin – Lead Sponsor
HOME CARE SAVINGS & REINVESTMENT ACT
Senate Bill S7800
Assembly Bill A8470
Repeals managed long term care provisions for Medicaid recipients; establishes provisions for fully integrated plans for long term care including PACE and MAP plans.
STATE SENATORS
Shelley B. Mayer
ASSEMBLYMEMBERS
Chris Burdick
Dana Levenberg
Amy Paulin – Lead Sponsor
MaryJane Shimsky