State investing $2.6B of ARP funds into home health care

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Gov. Josh Shapiro was one of three governors to speak at a White House conference announcing new funding from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) that will support in-home caregivers.

Gene Sperling, ARP coordinator and a senior economic advisor to President Joe Biden, said Shapiro was chosen to participate because Pennsylvania has been a leader in using “innovative funds” to improve the caregiver system which will help keep seniors and those with disabilities in their homes longer, keeping much needed nursing home beds open.

Sperling said that, nationally, more than seven million seniors and individuals with disabilities and their families rely on home and community-based services (HCBS) to help meet their long-term care needs in their home or community, rather than in institutions.

Pennsylvania, he said, is investing about $2.6 billion, one of the largest awards nationally, from ARP to expand access and support its home care workforce, including raising wages and recruiting and retaining thousands of direct care workers.

“This allows for more money for career path expansion which will increase the number of people that will receive care, reduce waiting lists and allow family members who left the workforce to return,” Sperling said. “That will create a significant economic benefit.”

Sperling added that, with the help of home care workers, seniors can age with dignity and those with disabilities can contribute to society.

During the conference, Shapiro said the ARP funds are a huge win for Pennsylvania.

“Currently, there are 13,000 residents on waiting lists that are on emergency status,” Shapiro said. “That means they need to get care within the next six months. We will put this money to good use because it’s not a number, but a lifeline for people.”

Shapiro said that with the funds Pennsylvania is promoting wage increases for 55,000 direct care workers and training and recruiting more nurses by offering up to $7,500 in student debt relief for nearly 7,000 nurses working in hospitals who practice in the state for three years, he said.

The state is also creating a program where home-based care nurses will be paid to shadow nurses while in training so they can learn in a real setting.

“Pennsylvania is also creating a registry so families can identify worker availability and see their credentials and experience,” Sperling said. “It is also good for the workers to let people know they are available.”

In September, Shapiro took a ‘significant step’ and ordered his Department of Human Services (DHS) to begin updating the data used to set rates for home and community-based services for Pennsylvanians with intellectual disabilities and autism, Sperling said.

DHS, through its Office of Developmental Programs (ODP), establishes fee schedule rates for providers of Medicaid home and community-based service (HCBS) programs. 

Sperling said the registry will also encourage home care workers to get new skills and credentials so they can get on the registry.

“Pennsylvania is leading the way on this, and the federal government will fund 90% of the cost,” he said.

Sperling said it was “heartbreaking” during COVID that caregivers had to leave meaningful careers for their own economic needs. Those caregivers, he said, know the value of what they do, but the pay was just not adequate. The loss of that workforce came with an economic cost.

“We have to set the right salary because that reduces the need to leave,” he said. “These caregivers offer support to people and they create a bond making turnover hard.”

Sperling said many of the workers were lost to higher paying jobs in other industries so they could make ends meet.

“We’ve been impressed with the degree Shapiro has asked his departments to work on this,” Sperling said.

Shapiro thanked Pa. Sen. Bob Case-D for working on these issues in Washington, D.C. 

“Sen. Casey gets things done even in the difficult political environment. He continues to deliver for Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said.  “We are going to keep at it because in Pennsylvania we get ‘Stuff’ done.”