New york faces a silent crisis, which makes almost no headlines: the population of older adults who require home care increases, but low wages and working conditions, is driving workers away from that activity.
Since the fall of 2020 with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, everything has been worse: 85% of agencies that offer these services, they can barely operate. Exponentially, they are suffering a dramatic staff shortage.
Therefore, with one foot in the beginning of the legislative sessions of 2022 and when the next state budget is structured, this Tuesday the movement New York Caring Majority increased the pressure in a virtual session to pass the Fair Payment for Home Care Act, that raise wages for home care workers, paid for through Medicaid, in an effort to attract people to this sector.
“We are experiencing a time of high demand for labor, but there is also so much competition from other sectors that it is simply leaving a huge gap for this type of work to be attractive”, He explained Becky Preve, executive director of the Association Aging in New York.
This bill would set the base salary for home health aides at 150% more than the local minimum wage, which would allow workers earn at least $ 35,000 a year.
Today, many in the industry earn just $ 21,300 per year, working long hours.
Low wages, even more so in recent months, defined by a high inflation rate, make it difficult to retain workers. Since according to the balance sheets of these organizations, less demanding jobs in fast food chains they offer more money.
The legislation proposed by the State Senator Rachel May and Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, would set a higher minimum wage for home health aides, who are paid through Medicaid, who are among the lowest paid among homeworkers, due to the reimbursement rates available to their employers.
The first impulse to finance this legal initiative would come from the federal government if Congress passes the entire Build Back Better Act proposed by President Joe Biden, and the funds for subsequent years would be financed with state resources.
This legislation that is one step away from the state Senate discussion committee and has majority support, specifically would increase the salary on average to $ 22.50 per hour, which is now as low as $ 12 in some parts of the state.
Pressure on the Governor
Advocates for this workforce are also demanding that Governor Kathy Hochul include higher Medicaid reimbursements in the next budget state.
“We have witnessed how now you go to a restaurant in New York and all the prices have been changed. We have observed how these jobs do not cover a decent standard of living. It’s not about robots. We must move forward so that they are compensated with dignity, “he said. Linda Rosenthal, Manhattan Assembly Member, who joined the virtual petition for the governor to support this legislation.
“We appreciate that Hochul in his speech of the ‘State of the State ‘has announced actions to improve the quality of life of health workers. Now we expect that same enthusiasm so that it offers its support to the bill for the Fair Payment Law for Home Care ”, the legislator highlighted.
The expectation is that in the legislative session, which ends next summer, both houses will give the green light to this benefits package, as an urgent way to stop the significant shortage of home care workforceThis is even more so when many families are afraid of taking their older adults to the elderly due to pandemic risks.
So far, although the legislation has a clear path of approval in Albany, the state president has not yet made public her support for the new wage regulations.
The newspaper He asked the Governor’s office for a reaction to this request and so far has not gotten any answers.
“I prefer to work on something else”
A report from the New York Home Care Association found that 20% of positions in this field of work were vacant in 2019, and that 25% of patient families reported that they could not find home health care aides.
Indeed, a survey published in 2021 by the New York State Consumer Directed Personal Care Association found that seven out of 10 families needing these services reported that their home health aides left this sector due to low wages. In many cases, they accept higher-paying fast food jobs.
“I prefer to work on anything else. Generally you must be many overtime hours that no one recognizes you. They spent many years caring for the elderly with great responsibility, but it is a very delicate job and very poorly compensated, ”says the Mexican Barbara López, who is part of the organization Damas de Sunset Park.
Likewise, Bárbara highlights that many of her colleagues have lived through “horrible situations”, It even has cases of female workers who report having been unjustly accused of robbing the elderly and have been “humiliated” just because they need to work.
“For years we have demanded only the minimum Human Rights. If there are no changes, it will be difficult in the future to fill the vacancies that are needed. Prepared, certified people who even have specialized training prefer other industries. The income is from poverty ”, exposed the immigrant from Puebla.
The COVID-19 crisis has also exacerbated the existing hardships afflicting this workforce.
800,000 vacancies
According to the projections of several coalitions that defend this labor mass, New York you will need to fill more than 800,000 vacancies for personal care assistants and home health until 2026.
But in the current salary scheme and protections where the calculation of overtime and defining functions is complicated, there are those who foresee that worse times will come. At least that’s the opinion of the Dominican Doris Valencia, 50, who tells why he decided to “change his profession” after 15 years of contract with some agencies in Manhattan.
Doris sums up that you always end up working more hours than agreed upon. And doing other tasks that were not in the initial terms either. But for reasons of “humanity” they end up assuming.
“It is very difficult because one becomes fond of patients. And they hire you just to accompany, assist with the basics and remember to take medications. But months go by and you are with an adorable person who treats you like family and you end up cleaning, cooking and unfortunately the family never recognizes you”, Shares the islander.
The interpretation for Doris is that the pandemic ended up giving the “lunge” to the spirits of thousands of home assistants, because obviously additional risks arose.
“I know of a very professional Hispanic colleague that when this COVID-19 thing started, the man who was caring for the Upper East Side got sick and died. The daughter went over to him, blaming him for having brought the virus to the house. He practically accused her of being a murderer. She obviously never wants to work on it again, ”he said.
Economic advantages
Promoters of legislation seeking wage justice for these workers show that the legislation overall would provide an “economic blessing” for New York.
A study conducted by the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY) predicted the bill would cover 20,000 direct care jobs annually over the next decade, most of which would likely go to immigrant women of color that cover most of this workforce.
It would also create 18,000 additional jobs in other sectors through increased economic activity.
The academic report predicted that the legislation would generate $ 5.4 billion for the state economy, plus the proceeds of Medicaid savings from keeping vulnerable people out of congregational settings.
What does the legislative package consist of?
- Draft (A6329/S5374) which mandates bringing home care worker wages 150% above each county’s minimum wage, underscoring that this job is a highly skilled essential job that deserves more than the legal minimum.
- Legislation A10451 and S8361 which require private insurance companies to reimburse the cost of personal protective equipment for home care agencies.
- Preliminary draft S4222 which funds the Homecare Jobs Innovation Fund to determine innovative ways to improve the quality of work in the homecare sector and improve the recruitment and retention of this workforce.
An immigrant workforce:
- 78% of this New York workforce was born outside the United States.
- 38% are Hispanic / Latino, 27% Black (not Hispanic) and 18% Asian.
- 25,000 new jobs in this sector, it would drive the approval and implementation of this legislation over the next decade.
- 180,000 new jobs for people of color it would generate the Fair Payment for Home Care Act.
- 351,000 people who belong to this sector would receive salary increases.
- 288,000 workers of color who are currently home aides would be directly benefited.
eldiariony.com
Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.