Senate Special Committee on Aging Examines Home-Based Health Care Services
On Wednesday, the Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing to examine the importance of home-based health care services and how to lower costs for families in need.
According to data presented at the hearing, more than 3 million Americans are able to remain in their homes and stay active in their communities because of home-based care.
At the same time, nearly 820,000 Americans are on waitlists for home-based care services.
“Without access to this care, many people, usually women, are forced to leave the workforce to care for a loved one,” said Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., who serves as chairman of the Special Committee on Aging, during the hearing.
Last June, Casey and 40 other senators introduced S. 2210, the Better Care Better Jobs Act, to provide funds for state Medicaid programs to improve home and community-based services, such as home health care.
According to a fact sheet on the Better Care Better Jobs Act, home care workers, a majority of whom are women, earn a median wage of $12 per hour, with roughly 18% of these workers living in poverty and many receiving few or no benefits.
As a result, the industry sees a high turnover rate — often estimated between 40%-60% — among direct care workers.
Casey said during that hearing that the committee has so far received over 335 statements for the record that support the investment in home- and community-based services.
The National Association for Home Care & Hospice estimates that the act will inject roughly $150 billion into Medicaid’s Home and Community Based Services program, with $100 million for states to develop their Medicaid HCBS plans.
The bill was not included in the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure investment and jobs act package signed into law by President Biden last year, and any funds for the bill would come from future appropriations.
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