Editorial writers at the New York Times say home health care workers are prone to low pay and exploitation because outdated labor rules exempt their employers from federal standards governing overtime and minimum wage rates. Home health care is expected to be one of the nation’s fastest-growing occupations over the next decade, with an increase of 51 percent forecast.

An excerpt:

… It is unconscionable that workers who are entrusted with the care of some of the nation’s most vulnerable citizens are themselves unprotected by basic labor standards.

It is also unwise, because poor pay for long hours leads to high turnover, which undermines the quality of care. Turnover also drives up the cost of providing home care – a needless drain on Medicaid, which pays for many home care services. And that is not the only way that poor quality home care jobs end up costing taxpayers. Nearly half of home care workers rely on food stamps or other public assistance, so taxpayers ultimately compensate for their low pay and inadequate benefits.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 28th, 2009 at 11:11 am and is filed under caregivers, health aides/direct support workers, health care. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.