Editor’s Picks: The Home Health Jobs Update

Do you want the good news or the bad news first? This week, we had mixed data about the home health care job market to share with our readers. The good: The home health industry was the fastest growing job market in health care over the last 12 months. However, nurses are fleeing the industry in favor of higher pay in the fast food industry.

The week also brought some of the largest protests across the nation in the fight for a $15 minimum wage. The protests included home health care workers, among other industries. We also kept up with the fallout of the bundled payment initiative for joint replacement patients, which became effective April 1.

Most Read

Joint Replacement Bundles Create Showcase for Home Health—The April 1 start of the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) payment model could spell bad news for the 60% of participating hospitals that are likely to lose money. However, the initiative is a “tremendous opportunity” for home health agencies, according to CareCentrix CEO John Driscoll.

Senior Care Workers Flee to McDonald’s for Higher Pay—Already familiar with high turnover rates, the home care industry is facing another labor hurdle: nurses leaving their jobs to work at McDonald’s for higher pay, according to EverythingLubbock.com. Low Medicaid reimbursement rates in certain states are making it harder to pay certified nurses, who are more often turning to flipping hamburgers to make more money than helping others.

Home Health Job Growth Outpaces All Other Health Care Settings—Home health care is adding jobs at a faster pace than any other health care employment setting, according to new data. Over the past 12 months, home health care added 74,900 jobs for a growth rate of 5.8%, data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed.

Home Health a Top Target by Corporate Venture Capital—Home health is one of the top five targets by corporate venture capitals (CVCs) making big investments in digital health, according to a recent survey. With so much opportunity across the shifting health care landscape and $18 billion invested by CVCs in 2015, more major corporations are seeking out their next targets in digital health and becoming a new, natural partner to startups in the space.

Around the Web

The ACA Makes Health Care Jobs Worth Studying For—Becoming a doctor is financially out of reach for most people, but other health care careers are lucrative and growing rapidly. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has helped expand the capabilities of several types of medical professionals, including home health aides, writes The Huffington Post. The provisions are making health care more manageable for the aging population and offer more career opportunities for young people.

D.C. Caregivers Join With Mayor Bowser in Day of Action—Home care workers, accompanied by District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser, rallied for a $15 minimum wage and a union for caregivers who provide critical service to seniors and people living with disabilities in the nation’s capital. The city hall press conference was part of the biggest-ever day of strikes and protests for $15 and union rights worldwide, in which tens of thousands of workers, including those working in fast-food, home care, child care, airports and higher education, called for higher wages so that they can afford the basic necessities.

Written by Amy Baxter