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New York City Home Health Aides Get 10% Wage Boost

December 8, 2016

With the minimum wage in New York City rising to $11 per hour at the end of the year, home health aides will see a full dollar added to their existing $10 per hour base wage. Their total base compensation, which includes $4.09 in benefits mandated under a wage parity law (pdf), will cross the $15 per hour mark for the first time.

“New York City is a very expensive place to live, so any increase in wages helps aides and their families make ends meet,” said Allison Cook, PHI New York Policy Manager. “Making these jobs better also means elders and people with disablities are more likely to have access to the quality caregiving services they need.”

The wage parity law requires home health aides to be paid a minimum base wage, and applies to those working for Medicaid-funded home health agencies in New York City, Westchester, and Long Island. In addition to paying the specific wage identified in the law, employers must either offer benefits, or pay an additional wage that is equivalent to the baseline benefit amount set by the law. Wage parity applies to any home health aide service that is paid for, in any part, by Medicaid.

While the baseline hourly wage will be raised to $11 in New York City, Westchester and Long Island wage parity amounts will remain the same, currently a $10 per hour wage with $3.22 in benefits.

— by Aaron Toleos, PHI Online Communications Director

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