""I live with my parents," Downes told Truthout, "because, even with my diagnosis, the state only authorizes care for 35 hours a week. It's shameful since I need 24-hour assistance. Right now, my 62-year-old mother is the only person on my payroll. She makes $19.80 an hour and has to rely on my father's employer health plan because the job does not provide benefits.""
"But as inadequate as this is, Downes says the situation may soon get worse: A rule promulgated by the Department of Labor (DOL) in May could decimate the home care industry by removing minimum wage and overtime protections that in-home health care workers like her mom have been entitled to since 2015."
""The DOL rule change reflects a viewpoint that undervalues home health workers and the work they do, but it also reflects an undervaluing of people, like me, who are cared for," Downes says. "Those lawmakers who support the rules change don't see our lives as worthwhile, and they seem hellbent on moving us backwards.""
Kathleen Downes is a 32-year-old Long Island resident with quadriplegic multiple sclerosis who requires help with transferring, bathing, dressing, hair care, and meal preparation and needs 24-hour assistance. New York State Medicaid's Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) authorizes only 35 hours of care per week, so Downes lives with her parents and employs her 62-year-old mother as the sole paid caregiver. The mother earns $19.80 per hour and lacks employer-provided benefits, relying on the father's health plan. A Department of Labor proposal could remove minimum wage and overtime protections for in-home health workers, risking destabilization of the home care workforce and the wellbeing of care recipients.
Read at Truthout
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