Home Care Daily - National Home Care Industry News

While the home care sector has been the number one job creator in the country for a few years, that’s been driven, in large part, to an increase in demand. Approximately 10,000 baby boomers retire each day in the US. However, due to various challenges in attracting and retaining valuable caregivers, there aren’t enough providers…

Home care continues to be a major force in America. As the baby boomer generation retires, more aging seniors require healthcare and ongoing support. Growing numbers of Americans prefer to age in place (or receive care at home) as opposed to a facility or institutionalized options.

Even as it remains the number one job creator in the country, and even as more people demand home care services, a struggle continues regarding wages, employee protections, and even regulations within the industry. When the Department of Labor changed the rules to provide in-home caregivers the same minimum wage and overtime protections as most other workers in units dates, its purpose was to help protect these invaluable care providers.

Home health care has become an integral part of the overall health care industry. As the population in the United States ages, it is placing increased pressure on short and long-term health care providers. More people, if given the choice, would prefer to age in place — remaining home, even as they deal with some serious health issues — as opposed to nursing home care or other facility-based care.

New York is planning on significant Medicaid reimbursement cuts to the nursing home sector in the state. An estimated $250 million is proposed to be cut from the Medicaid assistance that the state’s Department of Health offers nursing homes. Critics claim this is going to cause a potential mass exodus of nurses and other staff, thus leaving vulnerable patients without adequate care.

Although the in-home care industry is the leading job creator and demand for these services is far outpacing other types of long-term care, those rising costs are starting to take a toll on various agencies, organizations, and individuals who desire to remain home.

When the federal government began placing increased financial pressure on hospitals to reduce their readmission rates, there was significant pushback. Many hospitals — especially those in poorer regions of the country — complained that this would impact their bottom line too much and cause them to no longer offer support for everyone who needed it.

As more legislators become aware of the impact home health care has on elderly and disabled adults, they also discover that relatively and traditionally low wages are hampering agencies’ abilities to attract, hire, and retain valuable caregivers. Recently, legislation was put forward in Massachusetts to try and help secure vital caregivers for the aging population in the state.