During a Senate Aging Committee hearing on Wednesday, Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) asked witnesses about care for veterans.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Thank all of our witnesses. We'll turn to questions. I'll start. Mr. Townsend, I'm just grateful you're here and representing, in essence, the people of Pennsylvania and veterans.
00:11 We appreciate your service in the United States Army, and I want to thank you for sharing the experiences that you've had and offering insights into how you and Lisa have navigated VA caregiving, both services and supports.
00:24 You share that after an infection during an overseas tour in South Korea, you contracted a virus that is known to cause a progressive form of multiple sclerosis in some people.
00:36 Unfortunately, you're now living with the daily challenges associated with MS.
00:41 After a long battle with the VA, you were eventually deemed to have a 100% service-connected disability.
00:49 Like so many others, you have good days and bad days. Even on your good days, you still require some level of assistance with your activities of daily living.
00:59 You share that you applied for the program of comprehensive assistance to family caregivers and were denied.
01:06 How did this make you feel? What were you thinking when that determination was made?
01:12 And do you feel that the VA's assessment adequately considered your needs?
01:20 Clearly, we were disappointed when we received the determination.
01:25 It's certainly our opinion that VA's current interpretation of the eligibility criteria eliminates many veterans like myself from participating in programs like the comprehensive program in particular,
01:41 simply by not requiring assistance with certain activities of daily living each time that activity is performed.
01:49 I clearly think there's room for improvement.
01:52 And I think that was summarized best by Ms. Sawyer when she recommended the change to requiring regular assistance rather than assistance every single time a veteran performs that particular activity of daily living.
02:06 Thanks very much. I'll turn next to Ms. Neskens.
02:11 You as well shared your own story and that of your husband and the work you've done as a caregiver.
02:18 In your testimony, you told us that professional home care workers are an essential part of your husband's care team and your support team.
02:26 You also told us it's often hard to find and keep these workers. We hear about that a lot.
02:33 This is a story that I hear all too frequently back home, and we hear it in Washington as well, that it really is a care crisis across the board,
02:43 not just in this context, but in the context of children and seniors and veterans as well.
02:50 I've introduced several bills to improve both recruitment and retention of direct care workers.
02:55 These bills would benefit older adults and people with disabilities and would also support the family caregivers who are left with little support and without access to the services.
03:06 I'd ask you to tell us what it means for you and your family when you're not able to find a home care worker.
03:12 What steps can we take here in the Senate to make sure that a stable and qualified workforce is there for you and your family?
03:24 Yes, so the availability of home health aids is -- as everyone here knows, I believe, there's a nationwide shortage.
03:34 I do believe the PCAFC helps to alleviate that burden by allowing family members to fill that gap when those HHAs are unable to be found.
03:47 In addition, I think it's worth mentioning that the median wage for a home health aid in the United States is somewhere between $13 and $14 an hour.
03:56 When you consider what that requires for someone to come to my home, the nearest metropolitan area to Cardwell is Butte, Montana, which has roughly 35,000 people,
04:10 so that's probably where the home health aid would come from, they would have to commute 40 miles over the continental divide or over a very large pass in the middle of winter to come to my home to provide health aid services.
04:26 The likelihood of finding someone who is willing to do that for $13.50 an hour is just slim to none.
04:33 So I do believe that the PCAFC helps to alleviate those needs by allowing people that are already in the recipient's home or immediate community to fill those needs.