Home Health Aides Fear They'll Lose Hard-Won Insurance Coverage
Many health care aides were able to get insurance through the Affordable Care Act. But with the law's future uncertain, they don't know how their jobs or their doctor bills will be affected.
For more than two decades, Celeste Thompson, 57, a home care worker in Missoula, Mont., had not had regular contact with a doctor — no annual physicals and limited sick visits. She also needed new glasses.
Like many others who work in the lower rungs of the health care system, a category that includes nursing aides as well as direct care and personal care assistants, she has worked hard to keep her clients healthy by feeding them, dressing them and helping them navigate chronic conditions.
Workers like Thompson often of which are for-profit, don't offer coverage, or their employees don't consistently clock enough hours to be eligible.
