Act Now
Take action now to support caregivers and create a more equitable longterm care system in Maryland! We have drafted letters and provided a script for you, so taking action will only take a few minutes.
Urgent Action: Contact your legislators to support home care workers
Two critical bills for home care workers have moved in the House but are stuck in the Senate Finance Committee:
HB 489/SB 180 will protect home care workers from misclassification
HB 318/ SB 604 will lay the groundwork to raise the Medicaid reimbursement rate and raise home care worker wages
Call or email Senate Finance Chair Melony Griffith and Senate President Bill Ferguson to ensure this critical legislation is voted out of committee and passed into law.
Here's a sample script:
Hi, my name is ____, and I am a (member of Caring Across Maryland and insert your organization or a home care worker in Maryland).
I am calling to urge (Chair Griffith or President Ferguson) to call a vote on HB 489, which prevents home care worker misclassification. When home care workers are misclassified as independent contractors, employers can exploit them by offering lower pay, no benefits, no overtime, and no compensation for transit costs. This bill will level the playing field for law-abiding home care agencies, professionalize a marginalized workforce, decrease turnover, improve quality of care, ensure that public dollars are not used to violate the law, and advance racial and gender equity. We need (Chair Griffith or President Ferguson) to stand with home care workers who care for our most vulnerable.
I also urge (Chair Griffith or President Ferguson) to call a vote for HB 318, which passed unanimously out of the House. This bill lays the groundwork to raise the Medicaid reimbursement rate and raise wages for home care workers. The bill will require residential service agencies to submit reports regarding wage rates and create reports to address Medicaid Reimbursement Rates. This bill is foundational for sustainably investing in our care workforce and meeting the growing needs of those that rely on home care services.
Thank you.
Improve working conditions for home care workers
Low wages, lack of benefits and poor working conditions are contributing to the home care staffing crisis in Maryland. Maryland’s Medicaid wait list for home care and community-based services has over 31,000 individuals on it– which is the third longest waitlist in the country.
We need the Maryland General Assembly to pass a trio of bills designed to improve conditions and pay for home care workers to ensure quality of care for those in need, and to attract and retain more well-trained home care workers. Click the link below to learn more and write your representatives.
Fix the staffing crisis in Maryland's nursing homes
Direct care pay has historically remained low due to multiple factors, including under-investment in long-term care services and intersecting legacies of sexism, racism, and xenophobia that undervalue caregiving work and those who provide it.
The Maryland Medicaid Wage Pass-through Act would increase Medicaid medical care provider reimbursement rates and allow the increase to be specifically designated for worker wages and benefits. Write your representatives and urge them to support this bill.