OHCA Spring Summer 2017

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The Oregon Caregiver Spring/Summer 2017 14
PUBLIC POLICY
A workforce of nearly 83,000
Oregonians provides our seniors
and people with disabilities
with essential long term care services
and supports in their homes and
residential communities across the
state. This workforce needs to grow in
the coming decades to meet the rising
need for services from the baby boomer
generation. However, the long term
care sector currently faces workforce
challenges including a general shortage
of qualified direct care workers (both
certified and non-certified staff), high
turnover rates, increasing training and
regulatory requirements, and escalating
labor costs. These challenges are
expected to continue or worsen in the
years to come.
The state legislature recently passed
a comprehensive change to Oregon’s
minimum wage to require employers
to start workers at more of a “living
wage.” Under the new law, the Portland
metropolitan area will see the base wage
rise 60% to $14.75 per hour over six
years while other regions will increase
to $13.50 and $12.50 an hour. Both
Washington and California recently
increased their minimum wages as
well to $13.50 and $15.00 an hour,
respectively. The federal minimum
wage remains at $7.25 an hour.
One of the arguments in favor of
rising minimum wages was to help
working mothers afford the rising
cost of care for their family members,
both children and parents. A recent
report, Count Her In: A Report About
Women and Girls in Oregon, noted that
women are challenged to remain in
the workforce in general because of a
lack of affordable care options for their
children and family members. The
direct care workforce in long-term care
is 90% women.
While most workers in the long-term care
sector are earning more than the previous
minimum wage, once fully phased-
in, over half of the workforce will be
impacted by the new, comprehensive law.
Rising wages present both a challenge and
an opportunity for the sector.
The challenge is how to balance
increasing wages for caregivers to
provide a higher standard of living while
keeping the cost of care affordable for
middle-income seniors and accessible for
low-income Oregonians.
The opportunity of rising wages is
the potential for a more stable and
experienced workforce that meets the
growing demand for services.
Many long-term care providers struggle
to maintain a stable workforce. It is
common for a worker to receive training
in a nursing facility or assisted living
community and then move to hospitals
where reimbursement rates and salaries
are higher. Now, with wages rising
across the economy, it will be even
easier for long term care workers to find
comparable salaries in other sectors.
In order to achieve the desired outcomes
of rising caregiver wages, the state must
ensure that Medicaid reimbursement
Public Investments Needed
to Cover Rising Wages
By Phil Bentley, Oregon Health Care Association ““In order to achieve
the desired outcomes
of rising caregiver
wages, the state must
ensure that Medicaid
reimbursement rates
keep pace with the
rising labor costs...”
— Phil Bentley, OHCA