Close
X
Freedom Foundation

Get in touch

Freedom Foundation
Opt Out Today
  • Blogs
  • Staff
  • Donate
  • Join Us
  • Profiting from a Pandemic
  • Why We Fight
  • Cigars
  • SCOTUS Appeals
Freedom Foundation
Opt Out Today
Freedom Foundation

Contact Info

Comments submitted in support of regulation to end Medicaid dues skim

Labor
  • Maxford Nelsen
  • August 17, 2018

This week, the Freedom Foundation submitted formal comments to the federal Center for Medicaid Services (CMS) supporting the repeal of an illegal Obama-era regulation that has permitted states and unions to skim hundreds of millions of dollars in union dues and political contributions from payments to home caregivers serving clients eligible for Medicaid.

CMS announced its intention to rescind the regulation in July, starting the clock on a 30-day public comment period that ended Monday.

The Freedom Foundation has called on CMS to take such action since last year. If repealed, states would lose the legal authority to collect union dues from caregivers’ paychecks, though individual caregivers could of course still choose to make their own arrangements to pay dues after they receive full and direct payment for their services.

In a recent comprehensive report, the Freedom Foundation documented the history of the unionization of Medicaid-paid home caregivers, estimating that states diverted nearly $150 million in union dues from the Medicaid payments of almost 360,000 caregivers in 2017 alone.

The Freedom Foundation comment submitted to CMS directed officials to the report and responded to the various objections that had been raised by unions and their allies seeking to preserve the illegal cash-flow.

Additionally, the Freedom Foundation’s Oregon office submitted a comment focusing specifically on the history of the unionization of Medicaid-paid home care workers in Oregon.

Due to Freedom Foundation outreach, at least 91 caregivers from Washington, Oregon and California submitted comments sharing their stories of union abuse and calling for federal action to end union dues skimming from Medicaid.

On the West Coast, other noteworthy comments in support of the regulation’s repeal were submitted by:

  • U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA)
  • Former Washington Supreme Court Justice Richard Sanders
  • State Sen. Mark Schoesler (WA)
  • State Sen. Randi Becker (WA)
  • State Sen. John Braun (WA)
  • State Sen. Ann Rivers (WA)
  • State Sen. Mike Padden (WA)
  • State Sen. Jan Angel (WA)
  • State Sen. Lynda Wilson (WA)
  • State Sen. Kim Thatcher (OR)
  • State Rep. Mike Nearman (OR)
  • Pacific Legal Foundation
  • Washington Policy Center
  • California Policy Center

Some noteworthy West Coast voices siding with government unions against caregivers included:

  • U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (WA)
  • Jay Inslee (WA)
  • Kate Brown (OR)
  • Attorney General Bob Ferguson (WA)
  • Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum (OR)
  • Attorney General Xavier Becerra (CA)
  • State Treasurer Tobias Read (OR)
  • State Treasurer John Chiang (CA)
  • State Controller Betty Yee (CA)
  • State Sen. Sharon Nelson (WA)
  • State Sen. Karen Keiser (WA)
  • State Sen. Mark Miloscia (WA)
  • State Rep. Frank Chopp (WA)
  • State Rep. Eileen Cody (WA)
  • State Rep. Paul Harris (WA)
  • State Rep. Greg Smith (OR)

All told, several thousand comments were submitted from around the country. From Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson to conservative groups like Americans for Prosperity, the Federalist Society and Freedom Works, the Freedom Foundation’s comprehensive research on the subject was regularly referenced in comments supporting the end of Medicaid dues skimming.

Now that the comment period has closed, CMS will evaluate its proposed rule in light of the comments it received. There’s no way to know whether or how quickly CMS will proceed with its regulatory action but, for caregivers’ around the country being taken advantage of by government unions and their political allies, relief cannot come too soon.

  • Center for Medicaid Services Dues skimming

Recent Blogs

Union Politics, Dollars Upended the Ohio State House
January 26, 2023
Freedom Foundation Reaction to Washington State Supreme Court Hearing on Capital Gains Tax
January 26, 2023
Freedom Foundation calls out federal schemes to expose more workers to union pressure
January 20, 2023
NJ public employees refuse to take no for an answer
January 20, 2023
Unionize management? Washington state is considering it.
January 17, 2023

Press Articles

  • Jul 06 — RedState — Janus at 4: Landmark Labor Ruling Helped but Still Needs to be Enforced More Aggressively

    Read The Article

  • Jun 28 — Ineptocracy Chronicles — Teacher Unions Fund Left Wing Politics

    Read The Article

  • Jun 25 — The Hill — States Should Protect Caregivers' Medicaid Funds from Union Skims

    Read The Article

  • Jun 15 — Legal Newsline — Freedom Foundation: 'Education Union Spent More Money on Political Activities than Worker Representation'

    Read The Article

  • Jun 09 — Southern California Record — LA Superior Court Court Reporter Accuses Union of Forging Her Signature on Membership Card

    Read The Article

  • General Inquiries

    Info@FreedomFoundation.com

    Media Inquiries

    avarner@freedomfoundation.com

    Follow Us

             

    Contact Locations

    Washington:

    360-956-3482
    P.O. Box 552 Olympia,
    WA 98507

    Pennsylvania:

    484-747-6072
    P.O. Box 1069 Kennett Square,
    PA 19348

    California:

    949-954-8914
    1442 E Lincoln Ave #440 Orange,
    CA 92865

    Oregon:

    503-951-6208
    P.O. Box 18146 Salem,
    OR 97305

    Ohio:

    380-207-3901
    P.O. Box 14210 Cincinnati,
    OH 45250

    © 2021 Freedom Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
    Registered 501(c)(3). EIN: 94-3136961