Washington, DC — Today, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rolled back an Obama-era policy that allowed home care workers to opt into having union dues deducted directly from their paychecks or make contributions to a retirement fund. The new rule, designed to stop home care workers from contributing their own wages to support their union, sets them apart from most union members like teachers and police officers. In response, Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care, released the following statement:
“This blatant politically-motivated move by the Trump administration to target unions means that home care workers will no longer be able to contribute to their own health care through payroll deductions. Through union membership, home care workers are able to negotiate better training, higher wages, and basic benefits and improve the quality of home care for seniors and people with disabilities in the process. This new rule does nothing to address the issues faced by this industry – including worker shortages and cuts in Medicaid funding – but instead targets an already vulnerable population.”