On March 6, 2019, the House Committee on Education and Labor voted in favor of the Raise the Wage Act of 2019 (H.R. 582). The bill would raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour over five years, after which the minimum wage will be indexed to median wages. The bill is now headed to the House floor.
The Center for Medicare Advocacy joined other consumer advocacy organizations in expressing our support for the bill. Our organizations believe that raising the federal minimum wage will significantly contribute to improving quality of care and quality of life for direct-care workers, home care patients, and nursing home residents across the country. According to the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute, 37 percent of nursing assistants rely on some form of public assistance. Raising the federal minimum wage will allow those caring for our nation’s most vulnerable individuals to provide direct care without falling into poverty.
- To read our letter of support, please see https://www.medicareadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Min-Wage-Support-Letter.pdf