GRASSROOTS: Health Professionals Deserve Expanded Medical Leave Benefits
Congress recently passed a law that expands paid medical leave for most
Americans, but
provides healthcare employers flexibility to not expand paid emergency family and
medical leave benefits to their physicians and other health professionals. As Physicians across the
country continue to battle the COVID-19 outbreak they should not be potentially
forced to make the following life threatening decision when they or a loved one
get sick:
- Continue to treat patients and risk spreading the virus, or;
- Stay home and not receive paid medical benefits.
Like
many other people across the country, health professionals are feeling the
financial strain of this pandemic and should not be excluded from emergency
family and medical leave benefits. The exemption of healthcare employers puts
both patients and healthcare professionals at risk. The lack of guaranteed
family and sick leave could compel healthcare workers to come in to work and
treat patients - even if they could have been exposed to COVID-19 at work or at
home. This could lead to poor outcomes for patients and increase the spread of
the virus.
Please
take the time to email your members of Congress today. Let them know that any
future stimulus packages that address COVID-19 must provide our healthcare
workforce with the same paid family and
medical leave benefits already granted to others in previous COVID-19
legislation. Your actions today will help ensure that patients and their
physicians can stay safe during this crisis.