Maine direct care workers to receive raise starting next week

File photo Direct care workers in Maine will receive pay increases of at least 125% of the state’s minimum wage, starting Jan. 1.

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By Staff

Low wages are causing a shortage of essential support workers that has reached crisis portions in Maine, even as the pandemic adds layers of challenge and stress in careers that are already demanding.

On Wednesday, Gov. Janet Mills announced a plan that may help with the crunch, creating pay increases to direct care workers in long-term care facilities. The proposal would ensure the workers receive at least 125% of the state’s minimum wage.

Mills said she will also propose $7.6 million in a forthcoming supplemental budget to help nursing facilities with labor costs.

Increased reimbursements

The pay-increase plan hinges on a plan to increase Maine's Medicaid payment rates for 225 nursing and residential care facilities across the state, beginning Jan. 1.

The new rates, which were approved by lawmakers and signed into law by Mills earlier this year as part of the biennial budget, will allow the facilities to increase pay for direct care workers to the higher minimum, according to a news release.

The hike comes as the Maine Department of Health and Human Services implements MaineCare payment increases for other direct care workers across a range of services, including home- and community-based care, behavioral health, and long-term residential care settings.

Because of the complexity of the rate increases, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services had originally planned to increase rates for nursing and residential care facilities in July 2022. However, given the urgent need to further support direct care workers, Mills directed the department to utilize $4.5 million in already appropriated funding to begin these increased payments on Jan. 1, in line with legislative intent.

“Our direct care workers deserve pay that matches the important work they do for Maine people,” Mills said in the release. “It is my hope that increasing these rates will allow facilities to increase staff wages in the new year and help them recruit and retain committed and compassionate workers.”

Jeanne Lambrew, commissioner of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services said the state will continue a collaboration with the health care sector on staff recruitment and retention in the short run and on reimbursement and workforce policies in the long run.

Angela Westhoff, president and CEO of the Maine Health Care Association in Augusta, said the plan to expedite financial support to providers and their staff was welcome news as Maine's long-term care facilities continue the fight against COVID-19.

On its website, the association cites recruitment and retention of direct care workers as a top concern for members, as a result of an increasing demand for services due to an aging population and a declining supply of individuals seeking careers in the profession.

Additional proposed increase

Mills said her upcoming proposal, as part of her forthcoming supplemental budget, for an additional $7.6 million is designed to reinstate a “supplemental wage adjustment” that would assist nursing and residential care facilities with labor costs through the rest of the 2022 fiscal year.

If approved by the Legislature, the department will include the rate increase for use in the first half of 2022 to complement the increased rates that support at least 125% of the minimum wage.

To alleviate financial strain on nursing facilities, Mills has directed the Department of Health and Human Services to waive penalties on nursing facilities that are experiencing low occupancy rates.

Many health care positions were growing before the pandemic. Home health care alone has tripled in size in the last 20 years and there’s also been growth in social workers, patient navigators and care coordinators in hospitals. The pandemic created increased demand on hospital infrastructure and staffing.