Long-term care is going through a process of “rebalancing” in the United States — shifting from institutional care to more home-based services, according to John Bowblis, professor of economics at Miami University in Ohio.
“In the last 10 years, there’s been this push to try to get people long-term care in a home setting, and particularly their own home,” Bowblis said. “Home health aides play a very important part in allowing people to … stay at home longer.”1
However, the Home-Based Care Pain Points and Opportunities in 2022 report from Home Health Care News (HHCN) and AlayaCare found that 80% of surveyed home health and home care providers indicated they are turning away referrals due to employee churn and staffing capacity.2
Clearly, attracting and retaining in-home caregivers has become a significant challenge in today’s tight labor market. In order to meet the ever-increasing demand, wages need to rise to compete with non-healthcare jobs that require comparable education levels, such as customer service, retail or hospitality.
2021 Median Pay Source: Occupational Outlook Handbook from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | |
Home Health and Personal Care Aides3 | $14.15 per hour $29,430 per year |
Customer Service Representative4 | $17.75 per hour $36,920 per year |
Information Clerks (e.g. Hotel Front Desk)5 | $18.01 per hour $37,450 per year |
The Nurse Salary Research Report from Nurse.com,6 revealed that 25% of all nurse respondents (RNs, APRNs, LPNs/LVNs) indicated their salaries grew during the pandemic. In addition to the higher salaries reported by RNs and LPNs themselves, the overall cost of employing high-quality nurses for in-home health care also includes significant signing bonuses, benefits, training and general operating costs.
But it wasn’t just changes in the healthcare sector — the entire U.S. economy experienced (and is still experiencing) soaring inflation. According to SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management), in May of 2022, we hit the highest inflation rate in 40 years, pushing wages up with bigger and more frequent pay raises for employees.7
While the overall inflation rate was reported at 8.6%, gas was up 48.7%, drastically affecting nurses and caregivers who help clients in their homes. Often driving up to 40 miles round trip to see a client, in-home providers aren’t able to work remotely like others in today’s workforce.
The industry-wide staffing challenge is quantified in HHCN’s Pain Points report, which polled 145 home health and home care providers between December 15, 2021 and January 10, 2022. Recruiting and hiring — followed by employee retention and churn — are the top business inefficiencies reported by home-based care providers. As you can see by the chart below, turnover rates have increased each year.
National Average Turnover Rates8 | |||
2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
Registered Nurses | 20.55% | 25.85% | 32.25% |
Home Care Aides | 36.53% | 38.05% |
Source: 2021-2022 Home Care Salary & Benefits Report from Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service (HCS). The report is published in cooperation wiht the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC).
Home care providers truly want to deliver the best care possible to their clients and their families, but the reality is that it’s costing employers more to recruit, hire and retain high-quality caregivers.2
As with many things in life, “you get what you pay for,” which is why it’s crucial for in-home care companies to offer compensation that attracts and rewards at-home caregivers. When nurses and caregivers are paid well and receive meaningful benefits, clients reap the rewards of high-quality, happy providers.
Other ways to ensure that clients receive quality assistance at home include:
Concerned family members are extremely appreciative of those friendly, skilled and helpful caregivers who assist their loved ones with activities of daily living — so they can remain in their homes longer. We make it possible.
BrightStar Care has made a commitment to hiring high-quality caregivers, providing them with extensive training and the clinical support they need each day. To learn more about our staffing solutions and how we can help you meet your organization’s needs, please call 833-306-5142, visit brightstarcare.com/business-partnerships or reach out to nationalaccountsales@brightstarcare.com.
1 https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/05/05/1095050780/a-shortage-of-health-aides-is-forcing-out-those-who-wish-to-get-care-at-home
2 https://homehealthcarenews.com/ebook/top-opportunities-and-pain-points-in-home-based-care/
3 https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/home-health-aides-and-personal-care-aides.htm
4 https://www.bls.gov/ooh/office-and-administrative-support/customer-service-representatives.htm
5 https://www.bls.gov/ooh/office-and-administrative-support/information-clerks.htm
6 https://www.nurse.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/2022-Nurse-Salary-Research-Report-from-Nurse.com_.pdf
7 https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/compensation/pages/annual-inflation-hit-40-year-high-in-may.aspx#:':text=U.S.%20Inflation%20Rate%20Reaches%208.6%25%20in%20May%2C%20a%2040%2D,Year%20High%2C%20Pushing%20Wages%20Up&text=The%20U.S.%20inflation%20rate%20reached,raise%20wages%20to%20keep%20pace.
8 https://www.homecaremag.com/news/study-home-health-rn-salaries-turnover-increase
As you know, the gig economy has been booming over the past several years. If youre thinking of using your skills to take on a side gig, what should you do with the money youll make?Theres no one right answer for everyone, and the decisions you make should be based on your individual situation. And of course, you may simply need the extra income to support your lifestyle and pay the bills. But if you already have your cash flow in good shape, and you have some freedom with your gig money, consider these suggestions: Contribute more to your IRA. If you couldnt afford to contribute the maximum amount to your IRA, you may find it easier to do so when you have additional money coming in from a side gig. For the 2023 tax year, you can put in up to $6,500 to a traditional or Roth IRA, or $7,500 if youre 50 or older. (Starting in 2024, this extra $1,000 catch-up contribution amount may be indexed for inflation.) The amount you can contribute to a Roth IRA is reduced, and eventually eliminated, at certain income levels. Look for new investment opportunities. If youre already maxing out your IRA, you might be able to find other investment possibilities for your side gig money. For example, if you have young children, perhaps you could use some of the money to invest in a 529 education savings plan. A 529 plan offers potential tax advantages and can be used for college, qualified trade school programs, and possibly some K-12 expenses. Please keep in mind that potential tax advantages will vary from state to state. Build an emergency fund. Life is full of unexpected events and some can be quite expensive. What if you needed a major car repair or required a medical procedure that wasnt totally covered by your health insurance? Would you have the cash available to pay these bills? If not, would you be forced to dip into your IRA or 401(k)? This might not be a good move, as it could incur taxes and penalties, and deprive you of resources you might eventually need for retirement. Thats why you might want to use your gig earnings to help fund an emergency fund containing several months worth of living expenses, with the money kept in a liquid, low-risk account. To avoid being tempted to dip into your emergency fund, you may want to keep it separate from your daily spending accounts. Pay down debts. Most of us will always carry some debts, but we can usually find ways to include the bigger ones mortgage, car payments and so on into our monthly budgets. Its often the smaller debt payments, frequently associated with high-interest-rate credit cards, that cause us the most trouble, in terms of affecting our cash flow. If you can use some of your side gig money to pay down these types of debts, you could possibly ease some of the financial stress you might be feeling. And instead of directing money to pay for things you purchased in the past, you could use the funds to invest for your future.As weve seen, your side gig money could open several promising windows of opportunity so take a look through all of them. Chad Choate III, AAMS828 3rd Avenue WestBradenton, FL 34205941-462-2445chad.chaote@edwardjones.com This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor. Edward Jones, Member SIPC
Its been a bumpy year for the financial markets which means that some of your investments may have underperformed or lost value. Can you use these losses to your advantage?Its possible. If you have some investments that have lost value, you could sell them to offset taxable capital gains from other investments. If your losses exceed gains for the year, you could use the remaining losses to offset up to $3,000 of ordinary income. And any amount over $3,000 can be carried forward to offset gains in future years. This tax-loss harvesting can be advantageous if you plan to sell investments that youve held in taxable accounts for years and that have grown significantly in value. And you might receive some gains even if you take no action yourself. For example, when you own mutual funds, the fund manager can decide to sell stocks or other investments within the funds portfolio and then pay you a portion of the proceeds. These payments, known as capital gains distributions, are taxable to you whether you take them as cash or reinvest them back into the fund. Still, despite the possible tax benefits of selling investments whose price has fallen, you need to consider carefully whether such a move is in your best interest. If an investment has a clear place in your holdings, and it offers good business fundamentals and favorable prospects, you might not want to sell it just because its value has dropped. On the other hand, if the investments youre thinking of selling are quite similar to others you own, it might make sense to sell, take the tax loss and then use the proceeds of the sale to purchase new investments that can help fill any gaps in your portfolio. If you do sell an investment and reinvest the funds, youll want to be sure your new investment is different in nature from the one you sold. Otherwise, you could risk triggering the wash sale rule, which states that if you sell an investment at a loss and buy the same or a substantially identical investment within 30 days before or after the sale, the loss is generally disallowed for income tax purposes.Heres one more point to keep in mind about tax-loss harvesting: Youll need to take into account just how long youve held the investments youre considering selling. Thats because long-term losses are first applied against long-term gains, while short-term losses are first applied against short-term gains. (Long-term is defined as more than a year; short-term is one year or less.) If you have excess losses in one category, you can then apply them to gains of either type. Long-term capital gains are taxed at 0%, 15% or 20%, depending on your income, while short-term gains are taxed at your ordinary income tax rate. So, from a tax perspective, taking short-term losses could provide greater benefits if your tax rate is higher than the highest capital gains rate.Youll want to contact your tax advisor to determine whether tax-loss harvesting is appropriate for your situation and youll need to do it soon because the deadline is Dec. 31. But whether you pursue this technique this year or not, you may want to keep it in mind for the future because youll always have investment tax issues to consider. Chad Choate III, AAMS828 3rd Avenue WestBradenton, FL 34205941-462-2445chad.chaote@edwardjones.com This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor.Edward Jones, Member SIPC
As you go through life, youll have various financial goals and to achieve them, youll need to invest. But just recognizing the need to invest is not as useful as matching specific types of accounts or investments with specific goals. How can you make these connections?Lets look at some common goals and how they could possibly be met with appropriate accounts and investments: Saving for a down payment on a house When youre saving for a down payment, you want a certain amount of money available at a certain time so, for this goal, you wont want to take too much risk. Consequently, you might consider investing in certificates of deposit (CDs), which will pay you regular interest payments and return your principal when the CDs mature. CDs are issued in a range of maturities, from one month to 10 years. Other vehicles you might consider are money market accounts or other cash equivalents. Saving for a childs education If you have children, and youd like to help them pay for some form of higher education, you may want to consider a 529 education savings plan. Any earnings growth in a 529 plan is federally tax free, provided the withdrawals are used for qualified education expenses, and you may also receive state tax benefits. A 529 plan can be used for college, approved trade school programs, student loan repayments and some K-12 costs. And if the child youve named as a beneficiary chooses not to continue their education, and doesnt need the money in a 529 plan, you can generally switch beneficiaries to another immediate family member. Saving for retirement This is the one goal that will remain consistent throughout your working years after all, you could spend two or even three decades in retirement, so youll need to accumulate as many financial resources as you can to pay for those years. Fortunately, you likely have access to several good retirement-savings vehicles. If you work for a business, you might have a 401(k) plan, which offers you the chance to put away money on a tax-deferred basis. (If you have a Roth option in your 401(k), your withdrawals can be tax free, although, unlike a traditional 401(k), your contributions wont lower your taxable income.) If you work for a public school or a nonprofit organization, you may be able to participate in a 403(b) plan, which is quite similar to a 401(k), and the same is true if you work for a state or local government, where you might have a 457(b) plan. And even if you invest in any of these plans, you can probably also contribute to an IRA, which gives you another chance to invest on a tax-deferred basis (or tax-free basis, if youre eligible for a Roth IRA). Try to take full advantage of whatever retirement plans are available to you.Here's one final point to keep in mind: While some investments and accounts are appropriate for certain goals, they may not necessarily be suitable for your individual situation so keep all your options in mind and take the steps that are right for you. Chad Choate III, AAMS828 3rd Avenue WestBradenton, FL 34205941-462-2445chad.chaote@edwardjones.com This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor. Edward Jones, Member SIPC
BrightStar Care of Venice and Port Charlotte is dedicated to providing the best in-home care for you or a loved one. We are a Nurse Owned and Family Operated Private Duty Home Care Agency offering Companion Services (meal prep, transportation, light housekeeping), Personal Care (bathing, dressing, transfers), and Skilled Care (assessments, medication management, med box fills). We also provide Medical Staffing. BrightStar Care is Joint Commission Accredited and Awarded Leader in Excellence, Provider of Choice and Employer of Choice 2016 - 2020 by Home Care Pulse. All caregivers are background checked, drug tested, bonded and insured. We are available 24/7...Just a phone call away!
BrightStar Care of Venice and Port Charlotte is dedicated to providing the best in-home care for you or a loved one. We are a Nurse Owned and Family Operated Private Duty Home Care Agency offering Companion Services (meal prep, transportation, light housekeeping), Personal Care (bathing, dressing, transfers), and Skilled Care (assessments, medication management, med box fills). We also provide Medical Staffing. BrightStar Care is Joint Commission Accredited and Awarded Leader in Excellence, Provider of Choice and Employer of Choice 2016 - 2020 by Home Care Pulse. All caregivers are background checked, drug tested, bonded and insured. We are available 24/7...Just a phone call away!