Full Citation

Title: The Case for Public Investment in Higher Pay for New York State Home Care Workers: Estimated Costs and Savings

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2021

ISBN:

ISSN:

DOI:

NSFID:

PMCID:

PMID:

Abstract: I n recent years, the aging of the population and the increasing preference for “aging in place” have combined to generate explosive growth in demand for home care workers. In New York State, the number of home health aide and personal care aide jobs is projected to rise from 440,000 in 2018 to over 700,000 by 2028, driven by employment in home care agencies, private households, and public programs like the Medicaid Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP). High turnover adds to the problem: employers across the state need to recruit an average of 26,510 new aides each year simply to keep up with the growing demand for care, as well as an additional 71,680 workers each year to replace the thousands of aides who leave these occupations or exit the labor force entirely. In total, over the ten-year period 2018-2028, nearly 1,000,000 job positions must be filled to meet the demand for aides. The demand for home care workers—aides who work in private homes—already exceeds the supply. A 2018–2019 statewide survey of home care agencies found that, on average, 17 percent of home care positions were left unfilled due to staff shortages. Because home care work is typically poorly paid, as well as physically and emotionally stressful, it is difficult to recruit new workers and retain existing ones. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased demand for home care even more, while further depressing the labor supply. In a Fall 2020 survey, 85 percent of participating New York State home care agencies reported worsening staff shortages. As a result of these staff shortages, many individuals with unmet home care needs experience hospitalizations that might otherwise be unnecessary, and many enter nursing homes, a costly alternative to in-home care that became especially dangerous during the COVID-19 pandemic. This report explores one potential solution to the home care labor shortage: substantially raising wages for New York State’s home care workers. The analysis presents detailed projections, based on the best available data, of the economic effects of such an intervention, estimating the costs and benefits that would result. We find that public funding for wage increases and health insurance coverage for the State’s home care workers would require significant resources, but those costs would be more than offset by the resulting savings, tax revenues, and economic spillover effects.

Url: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1806&context=gc_pubs

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Jabola-Carolus, Isaac; Luce, Stephanie; Milkman, Ruth

Publisher: The Graduate Center, City University of New York and School of Labor and Urban Studies, City University of New York

Data Collections: IPUMS USA, IPUMS CPS

Topics: Population Health and Health Systems

Countries: