U.S. GAO Report: Observations on Effects of the Home Care Rule

From ACCSES:

The U.S. Government Accountability Office has issued a report on home health care workers, in which it estimates that “jobs in homecare will increase by 40 percent in the next decade to meet demand from older adults and people with disabilities.” The report also looks at changes individual states made to their Medicaid programs in response to the Home Care Rule, which the Department of Labor issued in 2015, extending Fair Labor Standards Act’s protections to home health care workers. It also examines “the Home Care Rule’s effect on home care provider agencies, workers, and consumers.”

In preparing the report, the “GAO analyzed 2010 through 2019 national survey data on workers’ hours and wages; interviewed stakeholders from 15 organizations that represent the different groups affected, DOL officials, and home care program officials from three states selected based on variation in their Medicaid programs and minimum wage levels; and reviewed studies on state strategies to implement the Home Care Rule.”

The need for additional home health care workers has been known to the disability community for some time and hopefully this report can generate more ideas for how to fill what will be an increasing need.