Fresno home care providers face a choice between poverty wages or the Board of Supervisors taking away their healthcare.
Chue felt called to be a caregiver…and studied hard to be the best one she could be.
For Fresno County IHSS provider Chue Moua, her work is about fulfilling a calling. Chue has been a provider since 2016. To become a caregiver, she took classes through the IHSS program. There, Chue learned about things like diet, giving people medicine, administering CPR, and various other things that helped to make her into the outstanding caregiver that she is today.
Chue takes care of a widow named Nancy. Nancy has diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, as well as swollen legs. Because of her leg issues, Nancy sometimes has mobility issues that limit what she can do. That’s where Chue comes in: Chue bathes Nancy, tidies up around the house (sweeping, mopping, waxing, etc.) runs errands (like picking up medication), and cooks meals.
Before having a care provider, Nancy’s husband took care of her. Nancy and her husband had a long and loving relationship before he died in 2016, and while Nancy has managed to find some peace in her life (in large part due to Chue), she still misses her husband terribly. Nancy and Chue met through the church they both attend. Both are women of God and take great pride in their faith. Because of this, there was an instant bond between Chue and Nancy. Meeting almost felt divinely ordained, they sometimes joke.
Chue is forced to work a second job to make ends meet in an unstable economy.
In 2023, the Fresno County Board of Supervisors proposed ending healthcare for IHSS providers. Chue already doesn’t make enough on her IHSS salary to pay all of her bills. To make ends meet, Chue sells life insurance on the side as a way to stay above water.
“Do I wish I could pay for all my stuff with just my provider job? Absolutely,” says Chue. “But it’s just not possible right now. If I didn’t have two jobs, I wouldn’t be able to afford groceries or pay my other bills. Just last month, I remember having barely enough to get me through the weeks. I have to calculate each cent and ensure I’ll make it out on the other side onto the next month. It’s not right. But it’s where I am in life right now, and it’s like that for a lot of care providers in this county. We barely make ends meet, and healthcare coverage is the last thing we should have to worry about.”
Healthcare obstacles.
“If I’m taking care of someone in need and prevent them from landing in the hospital (and hospitals were in deep crisis all around Fresno County in 2023 !) shouldn’t I have healthcare to keep myself healthy on the job? What if I need a surgery and I can’t afford it on what I make on my IHSS salary? That’s what insurance is supposed to be for, but now the Supervisors are making us choose between paid poverty wages relying on government systems like Medi-Cal, or finding healthcare else where. I don’t understand what they’re thinking. This will only mean the county won’t be able to attract enough care providers to meet the growing need. I know they think they’re saving money, but these are people’s lives at stake. The county needs to invest in long-term care.”
Chue believes that many in the Fresno County IHSS program will leave in large numbers, and that’s going to badly affect the people who need care providers the most.
This is why Chue and other home care providers in Fresno County are asking the Board of Supervisors to refrain from eliminating their healthcare. Board members say that they want everyone to be covered…but their “solution” is to continue to pay poverty wages, eliminate the healthcare provided in the IHSS contract, and push IHSS providers onto gov’t assistance: the Medi-Cal system. Increasing the county’s investment in healthcare for our members is the only equitable solution to long-term care for all.
