As state decision-makers look for ways to create new jobs in a market with unrelenting unemployment, they may be overlooking ones that are hiding in plain sight.
According to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, the Top 3 job vacancies in the state are registered nurses, personal care assistants and home health aides.
It varies by region which of these three are at the top of the list, but all are consistently in the Top 3.
The case can be made that home care is the economic engine of many Minnesota communities. Over 70,000 Minnesotans of all ages currently receive home care services and this service sector accounts for 200,000 jobs in the state. It’s a growth industry that impacts far more people than hospitals or nursing homes and is sure to be even more in demand as over 78 million Baby Boomers approach retirement.
Yet home care is an invisible industry. Unlike hospitals or long-term care facilities, there are no brick and mortar buildings to see and no high profile fundraising drives. By contrast, home health aides, skilled nurses and personal care assistants quietly go about their work in the privacy of clients’ homes. That’s why even though home care is both cost efficient and patient preferred, reimbursement rates from the state fall short of the actual value of services provided.
The state training requirements for home care workers are extensive but the pay doesn’t correlate to these requirements. In fact, it is a third less than what it should be based on a Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development compensation equation. Governor Pawlenty’s latest $370 million Health and Human Services budget cuts includes a 2.5% cut in pay for home care aides and personal care assistants, putting wages for these jobs even further behind the eight ball. The standing argument is “we have to live within our means”. But at what point can’t you live within your means? In other words, why not offer a living wage for the many service jobs that can easily be created in this ever-growing field? They may not be politically correct green jobs or infrastructure jobs with tangibly visible results, but home care jobs nonetheless serve a vital role in our health care system.
Home care saves taxpayer money by being a viable alternative to more costly care at in-patient facilities. It’s also been proven to prevent unnecessary or prolonged ‘revolving door’ hospital stays and emergency room visits for those recuperating from illness or surgery.
Not many people realize that eldercare now accounts for more lost work hours than childcare. The average length of family caregiving is 4.3 years. This is while these family members work full time at their own jobs. So if professional home care services aren’t available, there will be a negative economic ripple effect on businesses large and small.
The newly-released MetLife Study of Working Caregivers and Employer Health Care Costs drives home the urgent need for employers to actively address the bottom-line impact of employees providing eldercare for their family members. Findings include:
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As state decision-makers look for ways to create new jobs in a market with unrelenting unemployment, they may be overlooking ones that are hiding in plain sight.
According to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, the Top 3 job vacancies in the state are registered nurses, personal care assistants and home health aides.
It varies by region which of these three are at the top of the list, but all are consistently in the Top 3.
The case can be made that home care is the economic engine of many Minnesota communities. Over 70,000 Minnesotans of all ages currently receive home care services and this service sector accounts for 200,000 jobs in the state. It’s a growth industry that impacts far more people than hospitals or nursing homes and is sure to be even more in demand as over 78 million Baby Boomers approach retirement.
Yet home care is an invisible industry. Unlike hospitals or long-term care facilities, there are no brick and mortar buildings to see and no high profile fundraising drives. By contrast, home health aides, skilled nurses and personal care assistants quietly go about their work in the privacy of clients’ homes. That’s why even though home care is both cost efficient and patient preferred, reimbursement rates from the state fall short of the actual value of services provided.
The state training requirements for home care workers are extensive but the pay doesn’t correlate to these requirements. In fact, it is a third less than what it should be based on a Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development compensation equation. Governor Pawlenty’s latest $370 million Health and Human Services budget cuts includes a 2.5% cut in pay for home care aides and personal care assistants, putting wages for these jobs even further behind the eight ball. The standing argument is “we have to live within our means”. But at what point can’t you live within your means? In other words, why not offer a living wage for the many service jobs that can easily be created in this ever-growing field? They may not be politically correct green jobs or infrastructure jobs with tangibly visible results, but home care jobs nonetheless serve a vital role in our health care system.
Home care saves taxpayer money by being a viable alternative to more costly care at in-patient facilities. It’s also been proven to prevent unnecessary or prolonged ‘revolving door’ hospital stays and emergency room visits for those recuperating from illness or surgery.
Not many people realize that eldercare now accounts for more lost work hours than childcare. The average length of family caregiving is 4.3 years. This is while these family members work full time at their own jobs. So if professional home care services aren’t available, there will be a negative economic ripple effect on businesses large and small.
The newly-released MetLife Study of Working Caregivers and Employer Health Care Costs drives home the urgent need for employers to actively address the bottom-line impact of employees providing eldercare for their family members. Findings include:
•The differential in health care for caregiving employees is estimated as costing U.S. employers $13.4 billion each year
•The estimated average additional health cost to employers is 8% more for those with eldercare responsibilities
•Employees providing eldercare were more likely to report depression, hypertension, diabetes and other chronic diseases
Already, one fifth of today’s workers are elder caregivers. Demographic trends indicate that more and more employees of all ages will assume the role of family caregiver for our increasingly older population. The stats tell the story… In 2004, there were 36.3 million people 65+ in the U.S., or 12 percent of the population. By 2030, this number is expected to increase to at least 20 percent, or about 71.5 million.
If reimbursement rates for home care services continue to fall, there will be fewer home care agencies and therefore an access issue for people who qualify for such services under state health care guidelines. There will also be a quality drain as more experienced service providers stop offering a robust menu of services or eliminate select programs like Medicaid Assistance.
Home care is the preferred care choice for 95% of seniors recently polled by AARP. The burgeoning need for home care services is not going to lessen. So why don’t state decision-makers make the long-term policy decision to strengthen job sectors like this by paying a living wage? Do temporary government jobs or cash-for-clunkers programs really help us dig out from the lingering recession? Let’s not continue to overlook obvious job markets like home care as we look for ways to get more people back to work. Home care offers a win-win solution of needed jobs and cost-effective health care that we can’t afford not to see.
Neil Johnson is Executive Director of Minnesota Home Care Association, the statewide voice for the home care industry. Contact him at njohnson@mnhomecare.org. Listen to an intro how-to audio about home care on: www.mnhomecare.org.
