Imagine that you are a disabled New Yorker who relies on daily, 24-hour support to manage the basic tasks of life that others take for granted. Something as simple as brushing your teeth, using the restroom, preparing meals or repositioning in bed at night to prevent bedsores – the care you receive at home is more than a service; it is a lifeline, allowing you the dignity of remaining in your own home while still receiving the round-the-clock support you need and deserve.
Now imagine this stability, as well as the dignity and independence you are afforded by receiving care in your own home rather than in an institution, being completely suspended. A lifeline erased. This is the reality that nearly 14,000 disabled New Yorkers who receive 24-hour live-in care could soon face if the New York City Council moves forward with a fraught bill to upend the home healthcare system.
Intro. 303, while well-intentioned, seeks to ban 24-hour “live-in shifts” for home care workers by fining service providers for providing shifts exceeding 12 hours per day in New York City. While these 24-hour shifts can indeed be exploitative and should be reformed, Intro. 303, as currently written, is not the solution. The bill’s backers recently made some edits to the bill, but they do not meaningfully change the problems that exist in the original proposed legislation…