Home care advocates let down by budget

Advocates and lawmakers say wage increases and one-time bonuses for home health aides included in this year’s state budget don’t put enough money in the pockets of workers and could exacerbate a labor shortage in the industry. AP file photo by Seth Wenig

By Jacob Kaye

Facing a labor shortage and stagnant wages, home health aides in Queens and throughout New York are expected to see a boost in pay after a wage increase and bonus payments were worked into the recently passed state budget.

The final budget, which passed on April 9, over a week after it was due, includes a plan to increase wages for home care workers by $3 per hour over a two-year period. Home health aides, in addition to all frontline health workers, will also receive a one-time bonus of up to $3,000, the budget stipulates.

But advocates and lawmakers who fought to include a bill, which would have increased the minimum wage for homecare workers by 150 percent, in the budget, say they’re disappointed with the final result. They claim the changes don’t do enough to bring more workers into the industry or support a living wage, and that the increase may instead drive people out of the profession.

“I was deeply disappointed,” said Queens Assemblymember Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas. “Ultimately, what we got in this budget was a measly wage increase, and unfortunately, it doesn't address the problem that we're trying to solve – that New York has the largest workforce shortage in the country.”

Beginning in October 2022, home care workers will see their pay increase by $2, according to the budget. They’ll get an additional $1 increase in October 2023. On average, home care aides currently make around $13.20 an hour.

The new wage increase comes out to about a $7 billion increase in wages for home care aides throughout the state.

The bonuses worked into the budget will vary from worker to worker. The bonuses will be calculated by the state’s health commissioner, and the final payment will depend on the hours worked per week during a time frame yet-to-be-determined by the commissioner.

Frontline health workers who worked an average of between 20 and 30 hours per week over the time period will receive a $500 bonus. Those who worked between 30 and 35 hours per week will receive a $1,000 bonus. Health care workers who worked at least 35 hours per week will receive a $1,500 bonus.

Though health care workers who worked for multiple employers can claim multiple bonuses, their total cannot exceed $3,000.

Advocates say that the payments in the budget pale in comparison to those worked into the State Legislature’s proposed budget, which included the Fair Pay for Home Care Workers bill. The legislation would direct the state’s Department of Health commissioner to set regional rates of reimbursement for home care aids under Medicaid and other managed care plans. It would also mandate a 150 percent pay increase for health aides.

The bill, sponsored by Senator Rachel May and Assemblymember Richard Gottfried, has broad support among legislators. Not only did the two legislative bodies include the bill in its one-house budget, 45 senators and 99 assemblymembers have signed onto the legislation as co-sponsors.

Under the legislation, the average home care worker would earn around $19.80 per hour, or about $36,000 per year.

The final budget’s $3 dollar increase has the average worker earning around $29,500 per year.

“A $3 increase over two years is not going to attract enough workers to the sector,” Gonzalez-Rojas said. “It's not going to lift the workers who are in the industry out of poverty.”

The lawmaker, who represents portions of Corona, East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights and Woodside in the Assembly, said that she’s concerned that the $3 pay increase will make some workers ineligible for some government benefits, including food assistance, but that it won’t be enough to live off of.

“With such a small increase, they might end up falling off the benefits cliff,” she said. “It just puts them actually in a more precarious position and it can actually make the work workforce shortage even worse.”

“They might have to just they might be forced to look for other type of work where they can either be able to be to continue to be eligible for public benefits, or have benefits covered so that they don't have to be dependent on the state and the federal government for care for themselves as their caring others,” the assemblymember added.

Janet Ornstein, a Woodside resident, has required the help of a home care worker for the majority of her adult life. Though her daughter, Maggie Ornstein, has been one of her mother’s primary caregivers since she was 17 years old, the family has also employed a number of home care workers.

Ornstein, who spent several weeks in Albany in the lead-up to the budget’s passing, said the legislation would have gone a long way toward securing care for her mother had it been included.

“My mom needs more care right now – she's starting to have a little bit more trouble walking and is just up more at night,” Ornstein said. “The fact that there was a thought that there was some help on the horizon, that it would be easier to get home care workers to help my family – and now, the realization that that's not coming – I honestly don't know what we're going to do.”

Ornstein said she was particularly disappointed in Governor Kathy Hochul, who included a $600 million taxpayer payment for the construction of the Buffalo Bills’ new stadium in the budget.

“The fact that the governor ignored the fact that this is an investment with a two-for-one rate of return is nonsensical, all while giving my tax dollars to a football stadium is despicable,” Ornstein said.

“I can’t understand that as the first female governor, she can perpetuate the cycle of poverty that women face because of care – because of needing it and providing it,” she added.

During a press conference Wednesday, Hochul defended the investment into the wage increases and the bonuses.

“Home health care workers – my gosh – this is some of the most difficult work known to man or woman,” said Hochul, whose father currently requires the aid of home health workers. “As we’re trying to attract more people to get into these professions, we have to let them know that they have opportunities for growth as well as security in their income.”

“We plan to grow our health care workforce by over 20 percent over the next five years,” she added. “It’s bold, it’s ambitious but we have no options.”