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.
For this reason, with one foot in the beginning of the legislative sessions of 2022 and when the next state budget is structured, this Tuesday the New York Solidarity Majority movement (NY Caring Majority) increased the pressure in a virtual session for the approval of 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.
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