HHA Workers get OT and Minimum Wage

I recently came across an interesting article regarding proposed regulations for home health workers. Sometimes, it is the little things that are not dramatic that can affect our clients’ plans.

As described in more detail in the article below, On Thursday December 11, the Obama administration proposed regulations to give the nation’s nearly two million home care workers minimum wage and overtime protections. Those workers have long been exempted from coverage.  Home healthcare aides are not protected under the Fair Labor Standards Act.  Therefore, their employers are not subject to minimum wage or overtime regulations.

NY Times Article

As home healthcare aides are a rapidly growing work force, raising their wages and providing for overtime could represent a significant increase in financial responsibility for their employers.  One result might be that home health agencies may be forced to cut hours for their workers.  Also, the agencies may not have the financial resources to hire additional aides. In a slowly recovering economy, this would be an unfortunate result for both home healthcare agencies and their workers.

Another result might be that fewer patients may receive home health services or patients may not receive all of the care they need.  Patients might be required to pay more for the home health services they do receive.  Another result might be that home health workers might not be able to make as much as they do now as overtime hours are cut.

            Requiring an increase in wages could slow the growth of the industry, despite the projected significant increase in the need for home healthcare over the next 15-20 years. Slowing the growth of the home healthcare industry could lead to a decelerating rate of growth in the demand for many home healthcare products. If the availability of home healthcare services is curtailed, might that lead to an increase in direct and indirect healthcare costs?  For example, limiting access to home healthcare could encourage the use of more costly providers or an increase in negative outcomes as patients go without the care they need.

Now, what are your thoughts? 

Advertisement