Long-term care and other healthcare workers in California would see a minimum wage of $25 per hour if legislation introduced Wednesday by state Sen. Maria Elena Durazo (D) passes and becomes law.

The bill as written applies to workers in senior living, skilled nursing and home health, as well as hospitals, general acute care hospitals, acute psychiatric hospitals, medical offices and clinics, behavioral health centers and other settings. Currently, the state’s minimum wage for all industries is $15 per hour. The $25 hourly minimum wage would affect approximately 1.5 million workers across the state beginning in January 2024, the California Globe reported.

“State lawmakers must make meaningful and long-lasting funding investments in the long-term care sector’s workforce to advance the health and well-being of California’s older adults and persons with disabilities,” Corey Egel, director of public affairs at the California Association of Health Facilities, told the McKnight’s Business Daily. “Without these funding investments, wage enhancements cannot be achieved.”

Those enhancements are needed for facilities that are struggling to find workers and keep their doors open, Egel added.

Renée Saldaña, spokesperson for Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, told the McKnight’s Business Daily that healthcare workers are leaving the profession in “alarming” numbers.

“Low pay and poor working conditions mean that not enough new workers are willing to...

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