HCAOA Urges New York Legislators to Remember Home Care’s ‘Forgotten Middle,’ Pass Home Care Tax Credit

New York home care providers are encouraged to send a message to their Senators asking for their support of a home care agency tax credit to offset the minimum wage increase for home care workers. Simply click here, enter your home address, and send the pre-written message directly to your Senator.
 
Seniors who do not qualify for Medicaid or Medicare and depend on the pooled resources of multiple family members to pay for long-term care are being forgotten, Home Care Association of America New York Chapter members say. These seniors, dubbed the “Forgotten Middle,” put a strain on the resources of family caregivers to meet their needs. 

​The requested home care tax credit could offset the increase in cost of services that families will likely experience as home care providers begin paying home care aides increased wages. Effective October 1, 2022, home care workers began receiving a mandated $2-per-hour increase in wages. An additional $1-per-hour increase will be added in October 2023.
 
Like the recent tax credit for awarded to agricultural employers to offset rising costs due to newly mandated overtime pay, a home care tax credit could offset the rising cost of home care and meet the needs of some of these “Forgotten Middle” seniors and their families.
 
If minimum wage rates increase without a corresponding increase in public subsidies for all seniors, the cost of home care may grow out of reach for families—denying seniors and their families of much-needed services and increasing the burden on family caregivers.
 
HCAOA supports living wages for home care aides and calls on the state legislature to ensure financial reimbursement that will benefit all seniors and allow all NY seniors to receive care in their homes.