There’s an old saying: Everyone complains about the weather, but no one does anything about it. To some degree, the same thing is true of frontline staffing shortages. There has been a lot of talk and several initiatives, but there’s been little widespread or lasting impact.
It’s time, many suggest, to make a real investment in staffing. The Biden-Harris administration has proposed significant funding to improve jobs for all direct care workers. So what is the economic case for this investment?
- It will decrease public assistance expenditures. Currently 47% of direct care workers use some type of public assistance, including Medicaid, food/nutrition support, and cash assistance. The total cost for this assistance is considerable. LeadingAge has estimated establishing a living wage for direct care workers would reduce this spending by 16.8% or more.
- It will stimulate consumer spending and job growth. One analysis suggests that paying direct care workers a living wage would increase their contribution to the economy by up to $22 billion.
- It would reduce turnover. Turnover in this sector is consistently high – about 65% for home care workers and 99% for nursing assistants. The estimated cost of employee turnover in senior care is up to $5,000 per person.
- Saving healthcare costs. Better wages and benefits would enable workers and their families to better mange their health and avoid costly hospitalizations and emergency room visits.
