news

 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI) today introduced the Home Care Worker Training Improvement Act to improve the quality of home care by providing additional support and advancement opportunities for home healthcare providers. A week after introducing the COVID HCBS Relief Act, Dingell’s bill continues her leadership on long-term care by proposing legislation incentivizing investment in critical training programs for home care workers. U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) introduced a companion version of the legislation in the United States Senate.

“Home care workers strengthen communities, care for patients, and save lives, but are still too often denied living wages and basic workplace protections,” said Congresswoman Dingell. “In the midst of a pandemic that has upended our health care system and our economy, we need to invest in recruiting and training a new generation of home healthcare providers to meet this rapidly growing need in our country. This legislation won’t just improve our nation’s long-term care system, it will support the working families caring for our most vulnerable patients.”

"Despite the essential work home care workers do, for too long they have not been treated with the dignity and respect they deserve,” said April Verrett,  SEIU Local 2015 President and Chair of the SEIU National Home Care Council. “While home care is one of the most in-demand and fastest-growing jobs in this country, home care workers endure low wages, insufficient benefits, and little to no training.  The devaluing of this essential work is directly connected to the reality that this workforce is dominated by women of color.  We must transform home care jobs into good, union, family-sustaining careers.  Transformation requires a major investment and strategy to create a Medicaid Home and Community Based Service infrastructure that both delivers quality care to everyone that needs it and adequately protects, respects, and pays workers.  None of this is possible without increased funding for training.  We thank Representative Dingell for her commitment to honoring the homecare workforce."    

In the United States, the median annual salary for a home health aide was $24,200 in 2018, just above the $16,460 federal poverty level for a family of two. In addition, unique training requirements for various roles can result in providers feeling underqualified to handle high-needs patients; for example, up to 83% of caregivers report working with memory loss patients, but only 65% report having formal training to work with this population.

To read the bill, please click here.

###