These individuals will include home health workers from the Visiting Nurse Service of New York (VNSNY) Partners in Care, who will be marching with members of the 1199SEIU Homecare Workers union.

This public show of support is significant because it counters the idea that employers and caregivers are on opposite sides of workforce issues, according to James Rolla, senior vice president of Partners in Care at VNSNY.

“This is an opportunity for employer and union to come together, speak with the same voice, and fight for the same cause, and really show the workers that we’re supporting them,” he told Home Health Care News. “This is something that we truly are aligned with in terms of our goals.”

New York-based VNSNY is one of the largest not-for-profit home- and community-based health care organizations in the U.S. Its offerings include home health, hospice, and palliative care services, in addition to mental health support and more. The organization cares for more than 44,000 patients per day.

Founded in 1983, VNSNY Partners in Care is the largest not-for-profit employer of certified home health workers in New York.

Sponsored by Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, and Republican U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan, the Better Care Better Jobs Act aims to bolster home- and community-based services (HCBS) in a number of ways.

The act earmarks $100 million for states to develop plans to expand access to Medicaid HCBS and strengthen the home-based care workforce. These funds would be available no later than 12 months after the legislation is enacted.

Specifically, the legislation prioritizes wage and benefit increases for caregivers.

“It’s one of the few and most robust efforts we’ve seen on the part of the government to invest money and resources into a very scarce workforce,” Rolla said. “I think any money put forth would probably never truly match the value and the contribution of the work they do, but as an industry, we’ve always been held to reimbursement rates. We want to be able to pay as much money as we possibly can.”  

In the U.S., the median annual earnings for caregivers is $20,000. This is below the poverty line for a family of four, according to a recent report by the Global Coalition on Aging and Home Instead Senior Care.

“We’ve got to be able to move the needle so that this is no longer viewed as minimum wage work,” Rolla said. “If we want to elevate the role, we need to be able to compensate for that. Being able to offer additional wages and more robust benefits will improve and advance the quality of our workforce. We will unquestionably have better patient outcomes if we have a more valued and respected workforce.”

The legislation also builds on an American Rescue Plan provision that raises the federal matching rate for Medicaid HCBS spending by 10% from April 1 of 2021 through March 31 of next year.

Under the Better Care Better Jobs Act, states would be eligible for a permanent increase.

In addition toVNSNY, the legislation has received support from organizations such as LeadingAge, the National Association for Home Care & Hospice and the Partnership for Medicaid Home-Based Care.

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