The Better Care Better Jobs Act Would Increase Access to Care for Older Adults and People with Disabilities and Allow Them to Remain in Their Communities
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) joined Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) and a group of Senate colleagues to reintroduce The Better Care Better Jobs Act. This bicameral legislation will expand access to home and community-based services (HCBS) for older adults, people with disabilities, and injured workers, while increasing pay and improving benefits for the caregivers who provide this vital care. The Better Care Better Jobs Act would enhance Medicaid funding for home care, helping many of the more than 650,000 Americans on waiting lists receive care in the setting of their choice, allowing them to stay active in their communities, and live independently. Brown first introduced the legislation in 2021.
“Access to home and community-based services is a growing need in America, and we should be prioritizing ways to ensure Ohioans have access to the providers that best meet their needs,” said Brown. “Our bill gets us one step closer to meeting this gap in care.”
Cosponsors of the Better Care Better Jobs Act are U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Patty Murray (D-WA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), John Fetterman (D-PA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jack Reed (D-RI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Angus King (I-ME), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Peter Welch (D-VT), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI-6) introduced companion legislation in the House.
For years, Brown has led efforts to support older Ohioans age safely and securely. Earlier this month, Brown (D-OH) joined the Western Reserve Area Agency on Aging (WRAAA) to discuss “WRAAA Works!,” a new program that aims to help low-income older Ohioans better age in place and remain independent longer. Brown secured WRAAA’s request for more than $1.3 million in congressionally directed spending in the 2022 Fiscal Year government spending package. This funding will allow older Ohioans and individuals with disabilities in Northeast Ohio to make changes to their homes to better meet their daily needs.
In August, Brown secured historic measures in the Inflation Reduction Act to ensure older Americans get the best possible deal on high-cost drugs by directing the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate directly to lower the cost of prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries. The Inflation Reduction Act also includes Brown’s Helping Adults Protect Immunity Act (HAPI) Act, which creates parity in adult vaccine coverage between states that have expanded Medicaid coverage and states that have not done so.
Brown also fought to include additional resources for HCBS in the American Rescue Plan Act to expand access to services, lead to better compensation and benefits for workers, and help to create middle-class jobs. The final American Rescue Plan included an estimated $12.7 billion in funding for states to support the HCBS workforce and expand access to critical services.
A one-pager on the bill can be found HERE.