Celebrates Harris Proposal for Home Care Medicare Benefit

Krishnamoorthi shadows SEIU Healthcare Illinois child care provider for a morning of services, pledges support for investing in child care

Event comes as Vice President Harris announces proposed investment in care economy

ADDISON, IL  – U.S. Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi spent Tuesday morning alongside Maria Esther Hurtado, seeing firsthand what a day in the life of a local child care provider is like, as working families face a child care crisis wherein demand is high, care is unaffordable, and providers aren’t paid living wages. U.S. Rep. Krishnamoorthi received a tour of Hurtado’s home child care program, Nuevo Horizonte Home Day Care, and spoke with child care providers about how poverty wages and a lack of benefits are creating an unsustainable shortage of child care providers that hurts families.

Throughout the day, Hurtado, who has been a licensed child care provider for over 17 years, and other child care providers emphasized the urgent need to secure funding for child care providers through block grant funding that could raise child care providers’ pay.

“Without living wages and benefits, providers like me can’t afford to stay in child care and new providers won’t join us,” said child care provider Maria Esther Hurtado. “Mr. Congressman, I truly appreciate your visit to my child care program. I ask you for your commitment to making child care more accessible and to fight for investment. We child care providers in Illinois are making a positive difference in our communities. We are educating, and taking care of our children with high expectations that they will one day become great community leaders. Our children are our future and we need to invest in them.”

Directly after the “walk a day” experience, U.S. Representative Krishnamoorthi signed a pledge expressing his support for “prioritizing and advocating for the enhancement of care services, encompassing childcare, long-term care, and paid leave, so that everyone can get the care they need, both in the immediate future and the upcoming months.” Photos of the pledge signing are available here. 

“Child care workers like Maria are guiding America’s future by providing these children with a healthy and safe environment to grow and learn,” Congressman Krishnamoorthi said. “The impact of their work is immeasurable, yet people like Maria are expected to support and care for our kids while also providing for themselves on near-poverty wages. It was humbling to walk in Maria’s shoes this morning, and I thank her for her service to our community here in Addison, as well as the thousands of other SEIU workers doing the same across the country. It’s time we repay their hard work and dedication by raising child care worker pay and by securing more federal funding for child care.” 

Leaders from SEIU Healthcare Illinois and Rep. Krishnamoorthi also celebrated Vice President Kamala Harris’ new proposal to expand Medicare coverage to help cover the costs of home health care aides for seniors – a benefit that home care workers have advocated for years, as the cost of care for seniors continues to rise while worker wages have remained stagnant. 

“Whether it’s child care, senior care, or caring for those with disabilities, all families regardless of zip code are pressed to find and afford care, while workers are struggling to care for their own families because of low wages and lack of paid leave. Vice President Harris’ proposal is a critical step towards building a care system that works for everyone. We will continue to demand that our elected leaders prioritize caregivers and make meaningful investments to solve the care crisis,” said Greg Kelley, President of SEIU Healthcare Illinois. 

Nearly all (86%) voters agree America’s economy would be stronger if there were national policies that made it easier for Americans to work and care for their loved ones. At least 75% of voters across party lines say increasing caregiving investments should be a priority for policymakers. 

In direct response to millions of care workers and families demanding action to address the care crisis, the Biden-Harris Administration took historic first steps in the 2023 Executive Order on Care to strengthen the care infrastructure, streamline access for seniors and people with disabilities and invest in the care workforce with higher wages, benefits and better training. Vice President Harris’ new proposal to expand Medicare coverage for home care would build on this legacy.