Saturday, December 24, 2005
Part IV – Taxpayer-Paid Health Benefits for SEIU Members in Day Care, Home Health Care and Nursing Homes
Health care for home health care workers financed by the taxpayers will cost $151 million (not counting dependents), but we won’t tell you that in our questionnaire. (And, that figure assumes no family members would be enrolled in the program.)
I helped get home health care off the ground in Illinois. It makes sense to keep people in their homes as long as they are able to remain there. My education came during a junket sponsored by the American Council of Young American Political Leaders. A young Danish legislator told me about it. I figured it had to be cheaper than putting people in nursing homes.
During the 1977 session, after I returned from Europe, a bill sponsored by State Rep. Mike Brady (D-Chicago) was in State Rep. Eugenia Chapman’s committee to provide home health care. Jim Thompson’s administration had a down arrow on it. I walked over to the Thompson person (I think it was Gary Starkman, one of Thompson’s closer advisers) and made my pitch. He said the objection was money. I asked him if they could start the program in January. Then it would cost $6 million the first year, rather than $12 million. The answer turned out to be, “Yes.”
Now, the union wants to raise the ante by $151 million for health care.
The SIEU also wants to “maintain and expand quality home care services for the (nearly 70,000) seniors and people with disabilities.” Candidates are asked if they are in favor or not. Again, no cost is given.
On to page 5.
Right on the top is a question about increasing “funding for education and training programs for home child care providers through the Child Care Assistance Program?
Again, candidates will be flying blind regarding the cost.
A second question that the union’s newest members—day care workers—will find of interest.
They “earn well below a living wage and nearly half have no health insurance.” Are you for legislation to spend more money (no, it doesn’t really say that) to “provide affordable, quality health insurance for Illinois Department of Aging homemakers and their families and funding for a living wage?”
Let’s see $6,876 times 49,000 equals $337 million. Not a small amount to commit to supporting.
And, how about health insurance for nursing home employees? Only about 8,800 of them belong to the SEIU. The Department of Public Health could not tell me how many are employed statewide.
Making the false assumption that any such taxpayer subsidized health care would apply only to the SEIU’s 8,800 nursing home employee members would ring up a bill of about $60 million.
One wonders why the union does not just ask if candidates are in favor of state-paid health insurance for all state residents…as I am confident its leaders are.
To return to McHenry County Blog, click here.
I helped get home health care off the ground in Illinois. It makes sense to keep people in their homes as long as they are able to remain there. My education came during a junket sponsored by the American Council of Young American Political Leaders. A young Danish legislator told me about it. I figured it had to be cheaper than putting people in nursing homes.
During the 1977 session, after I returned from Europe, a bill sponsored by State Rep. Mike Brady (D-Chicago) was in State Rep. Eugenia Chapman’s committee to provide home health care. Jim Thompson’s administration had a down arrow on it. I walked over to the Thompson person (I think it was Gary Starkman, one of Thompson’s closer advisers) and made my pitch. He said the objection was money. I asked him if they could start the program in January. Then it would cost $6 million the first year, rather than $12 million. The answer turned out to be, “Yes.”
Now, the union wants to raise the ante by $151 million for health care.
The SIEU also wants to “maintain and expand quality home care services for the (nearly 70,000) seniors and people with disabilities.” Candidates are asked if they are in favor or not. Again, no cost is given.
On to page 5.
Right on the top is a question about increasing “funding for education and training programs for home child care providers through the Child Care Assistance Program?
Again, candidates will be flying blind regarding the cost.
A second question that the union’s newest members—day care workers—will find of interest.
They “earn well below a living wage and nearly half have no health insurance.” Are you for legislation to spend more money (no, it doesn’t really say that) to “provide affordable, quality health insurance for Illinois Department of Aging homemakers and their families and funding for a living wage?”
Let’s see $6,876 times 49,000 equals $337 million. Not a small amount to commit to supporting.
And, how about health insurance for nursing home employees? Only about 8,800 of them belong to the SEIU. The Department of Public Health could not tell me how many are employed statewide.
Making the false assumption that any such taxpayer subsidized health care would apply only to the SEIU’s 8,800 nursing home employee members would ring up a bill of about $60 million.
One wonders why the union does not just ask if candidates are in favor of state-paid health insurance for all state residents…as I am confident its leaders are.
To return to McHenry County Blog, click here.
# posted by Cal Skinner : 10:58 AM
