Stable Workforce Will Ensure Continued Access to Cost-Effective Home Care
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas The home is fast becoming the center of health care among the elderly disabled & medically frail Texans. And its often the most cost-effective method of care for Medicaid" said Anita Bradberry executive director of the Texas Association for Home Care & Hospice (TAHC&H) urging the Joint Legislative Committee on Aging to provide adequate funding to allow for increased payment rates for direct support workers - those who provide personal care and other support services for home care clients.
We must work to ensure a reliable workforce to provide continued access to quality and affordable home care services" Bradberry said.
Texas faces serious challenges in meeting current and future needs for a stable and adequate direct-support workforce according to the Home & Community-based Services Workforce Advisory Council.
The Joint Legislative Committee on Aging last week heard testimony from health care experts state officials and industry stakeholders on the urgent need to strengthen the workforce that serves Texas aging population.
Several factors contribute to challenges in retaining direct-support workers including low pay lack of benefits inadequate training and high turnover rates. In fact Texas is the lowest of all states in the minimum rate paid for Medicaid personal care services.
Bradberry also warned that the states Medicaid managed care program must maintain the established 
state rates.
Lowering these rates through the managed care program will only worsen the workforce challenges our state currently faces and will decrease the quality of care for Texans" said Bradberry.
Demand for direct support workers in Texas is expected to increase substantially over the next decade as the demand for home health care increases due to the aging of the baby boom generation the aging of family caregivers and the increasing prevalence of disabilities.
Now is the time for Texas to increase investment in its direct-support workforce to meet the increasing demands of our states aging population" said Bradberry.
Failure to protect access to home care services will cost taxpayers more by forcing Texans who receive these services into higher-cost institutional care options."
The Texas Association for Home Care & Hospice is a statewide nonprofit trade organization that advocates for ethical practices quality and economic viability of licensed providers in the Texas home and community support services. For more information visit.
