New Managed Care Study Findings Have Been Reported from Cornell University (What Do Unions Do for Direct Care Workers? Assessing Employment and Economic Outcomes): Managed Care

2025 MAR 17 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Fresh data on Managed Care are presented in a new report. According to news reporting from Ithaca, New York, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “Our study investigates unionization trends among direct care workers (DCWs) in the United States and examines the association between unionization and their wealth outcomes. This is a cross-sectional study using data from the Current Population Survey and Annual Social and Economic Supplement from 2009 to 2023.”

The news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from Cornell University, “Our study is based on US representative household surveys. The sample includes 17,522 DCWs (eg, personal care aides, nursing assistants, home health workers). The prevalence and trend in labor unionization among DCWs and the association between their union status and wealth outcomes (hourly wage, employer-sponsored health insurance, pension plans, and poverty status) were analyzed. Union status identified by formal union membership or coverage by a union without formal membership. The sample was composed of mostly women (87%); they had a mean age of 41.8 +/- 14.5 years, 38.1% were non-Hispanic White, 30.4% were non-Hispanic Black, 21.6% were Hispanic, and 9.9% were Asian and other. Overall, 12% (n = 1850) of DCWs were unionized. The Cox trend test showed decreasing in unionization rates over the study years. In fully adjusted models, unionized DCWs earned more than nonunionized DCWs ($1.2; 95% CI, $0.8-$1.6; P< .001). They were also more likely to have employer- sponsored health care insurance (odds ratio, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.8-2.3; P< .001) and pension plan (odds ratio, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.6-2.0; P< .001), with higher employer’s contribution to health insurance ($561.2; 95% CI, $303.1-$819.3; P< .001). Also, unionization was negatively associated with DCWs’ poverty status (odds ratio, 0.7; 95% CI, 0.6-0.9; P< .001).”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Unionization is an effective means of improving the financial well-being of DCWs, a workforce that is currently facing challenging working conditions and high levels of turnover.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: What Do Unions Do for Direct Care Workers? Assessing Employment and Economic Outcomes. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 2025;26(3). Journal of the American Medical Directors Association can be contacted at: Elsevier Science Inc, Ste 800, 230 Park Ave, New York, NY 10169, USA. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; Journal of the American Medical Directors Association - http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-the-american-medical-directors-association/)

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Heeeun Jang, Cornell University, Ilr Sch, Room 357, Ives Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853, United States. Additional authors for this research include Ariel Avgar, Kiran Abraham-Aggarwal, Russell Weaver, Daniel Spertus, Joanna Bryan Ringel and Madeline Sterling.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2024.105427. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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