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To the editor:
Our 86-year-old mother with advanced Alzheimer’s has received home care for over a decade, slowly exhausting her financial resources and ours. She now requires around-the-clock care. With my sisters’ help, we’ve kept her in her Brooklyn home of nearly 60 years — where she feels safe. I work full-time and manage her doctor’s appointments, care schedule, and now, the insurance issues plaguing her caregivers. One of my sisters, a caregiver herself, works four night shifts a week while raising a teenager and holding a full-time job.
Since the state forced its Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program into a monopoly under Public Partnerships LLC (PPL), our caregivers have faced constant payroll errors, unreachable support lines, and an opaque, overpriced health plan. Several times, they’ve gone unpaid — a burden they simply cannot afford. We are terrified we may lose them.
These dedicated professionals are the reason our mother isn’t in a facility. Lawmakers must restore choice and stability to CDPAP by passing the Save CDPAP Act (A8355/S7954) before the legislative session ends.
Governor Hochul and Albany lawmakers: protect the people who care for our most vulnerable. Fix this now.
Dorothy Browne
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