Flex those dialing and writing fingers! We need to let our Federal Representatives (Lofgren, Khanna and Eshoo) as well as Senators (Feinstein and Harris) know that they need to address nursing homes issues now!
HR1425 – the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act passed the House and now moves into the Senate. Let Senators know they need to vote ‘Yes’ and support this bill. This bill provides funding for the Improve Health Insurance Affordability Fund. States must use allocated funds to assist insurers or individuals with exceedingly high claims.
Our State Senators (Hill and Beall) also have their work cut out for them – and it’s our job to make sure they do theirs! They, too, need to address nursing home issues. There are several nursing home related bills that we want them to support:
SB1207 — Nursing Home Resident Safety Act of 2020.
AB2377 — Adult Residential Facilities: Closures and Resident Transfers.
SB1383 – California Paid Family Leave – Job Protections.
AB3216 – California Paid Sick Leave – Public Health Emergency.
SB 1383 would allow employees who work for a company with five or more workers to be eligible for 12 weeks of job-protected leave. Currently, only companies with 50 or more employees are required to provide 12 weeks of leave to care for a family member.
AB 3216 would provide vital job protections for CA employees impacted by COVID-19 — specifically, by allowing workers to take extended job-protected leave to care for themselves or a family member affected by COVID-19, including a family member whose school or care facility is closed due to COVID-19; worker retention and recall rights for certain service employees; and additional paid sick leave during a state of emergency.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that the pandemic is “one big wave”, rather than a seasonal thing. So, once we get the vaccines, we should be good. The researchers are confident we will have a safe and effective vaccine; however, it will take time. Some experts are predicting it may be next summer before we have a working vaccine. So, keep safe, wear masks, keep your social distance, wash your hands frequently and get tested if you can. We may be here a while, waiting….