Unionization Voted Down by Illinois Home Care Workers

Illinois Home-Based Support Services workers have voted for no representation by both AFSCME and SEIU here. Governor Quinn signed an Executive Order this past June that allowed for collective bargaining by individual providers of home-based support services to persons with developmental disabilities. Thank you to Ken Lovan for providing ANCOR with this information. Read more!

CLASS Act and Community First Choice Option

Urgent! Contact Senators Critical to CLASS Act Inclusion in Merged Health Reform Bill

This week, Senators working on the merging of the Senate Finance and Senate HELP health care reform bills will be focusing on the CLASS Act. It is essential that ANCOR members who are constituents of the following key Senators call or fax their offices and tell them the CLASS Act MUST be included in the merged health care bill: Senators Reid (D-NV), Baucus (D-MT), Snowe (R-ME), Durbin (D-IL), Feingold (D-WI), Schumer (D-NY), Bingaman (D-NM), Nelson (D-NE), Dodd (D-CT), Harkin (D-IA), Mikulski (D-MD), and Whitehouse (D-RI), Warner (D-VA), Webb (D-VA), Landrieu (D-LA), Bayh (D-IN), Lincoln (D-AR), Pryor (D-AR), and Tim Johnson (D-SD). Use ANCOR’s online congressional directory to get contact information.

We must work on these Senators TODAY. Message: The CLASS Act MUST be included in the merged health care bill.

Over 270 national organizations support the CLASS Act. The CLASS Act would: 1) provide a new private source of funding for ANCOR providers of long term supports and services 2)reduce federal deficit by 74 billion over 10 years 3) produce a savings to Medicaid of nearly 2 billion in first five years of implementation. The CLASS Act is fiscally solvent for 75 years.

Call Jessica Sadowsky 703-535-7850 ext. 104 if you have any questions.

Read more!

New York suspends mandatory H1N1 shots for health workers

New York public health workers will no longer be required to be vaccinated against both the seasonal and H1N1 flu virus.The dispute between the public health employees and the New York State Health Department was settled by a vaccine shortage that made the requirement impossible to implement. Read more!

Alston & Bird's Health Care Reform Chart - Updated Version

The updated version Alston & Bird's Health Care Reform Chart summarizes all three of the major health care reform bills currently moving through Congress. The updated chart incorporates the Senate Finance Committee's amended proposal as released by Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) on October 2, 2009 - after Committee markup. The changes in the amended Senate Finance bill are tracked in the chart.

The chart summarizes all three of the major health care reform bills currently moving through Congress:

(1) the Senate Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions (“HELP”) Committee bill (prior to markup, but incorporating coverage reforms released during markup);

(2) the House Tri-Committee bill drafted by the House Ways & Means, Energy & Commerce, and Education & Labor Committees (prior to markup); and

(3) the Senate Finance Committee bill (after markup).

Read more!

45 H.R. 868 Co-Sponsors!!

Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ), Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH), and Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) signed on as co-sponsors to the Direct Support Professionals Fairness and Security Act (H.R. 868). Thank you to Lowell Arye and the Alliance for the Betterment of Citizens with Disabilities (ABCD)for working with Rep. Lance's office and Tim Sullivan with the Institute of Professional Practice Inc. for working with Rep. Shea-Porter's office. Thank you to all those who also contacted their members urging them to sign on. Read more!

Kaiser Brief on the Class Act Provisions in Health Reform

This Kaiser Family Foundation held a briefing yesterday examining the Class Act provisions in two leading health reform bills. The briefing included a summary of the measure and discussion by an expert panel. This enhanced webcast presentation includes the speakers' slides synced to the video of the briefing. A podcast is also available.

ANCOR urges you to call your Senators to encourage inclusion of the CLASS Act in final health reform legislation. Use ANCOR's online Congressional Directory for contact information. Read more!

Senate Finance statutory language “America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009"

The legislative language from the Senate Finance Committee America's Healthy Future Act has been released.To access the language click on Legislative Language of S. 1796, the America’s Healthy Future Act on the Senate Finance Committee Legislation page.
Read more!