Home help workers are joining forces across the state to push for higher wages to improve Michigan's home health care system.
The Michigan Quality Home Care Campaign wants to convince state lawmakers to pass legislation to raise wages, add insurance and require training for in-home help workers to reduce the number leaving home health care sectors.
"It is clear as a state that we can't provide care simply in a nursing care facility," said Bob Allison, spokesperson for the campaign.
More than 100 seniors, representatives from disability rights groups and local elected officials traveled to Lansing on Tuesday to urge legislators to raise Medicaid funds as part of the campaign.
In Michigan, there are about 42,000 home help aides helping more than 50,000 disabled persons, seniors and terminally ill patients with daily tasks, such as eating and household chores.
Home help worker Christopher Dowell of Holt said some money should be used toward training and to get better wages.
Without insurance or paid vacations, home help workers have little reason to continue working in their field, Allison said. Balancing wages in Michigan is a campaign goal.
On average, Michigan home help workers are paid $6 per hour. Some counties pay more than $10 per hour, while others pay only Michigan's minimum wage of $5.15. Lansing home help workers earn about $6 per hour.
The home care workforce faces an annual 35 percent turnover rate — leaving many seniors, terminally ill patients and disabled people without quality home help aides, Allison said.
If there aren't enough home help workers, many people must move into more expensive nursing homes, Allison said.
Home health care costs $30 per day and a nursing care facility costs $130 per day, Allison said.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm proposed $20 million in February to raise aide wages from the state minimum wage of $5.15 per hour to $6.60 per hour, said Greg Bird, director of communications for the Office of the State Budget.
"It will help retain workers that we have and hopefully attract new workers to the system," Bird said.
The Senate's Department of Community Health Appropriations Subcommittee on budget proposals heard testimonies from home help workers and people who receive care, said Justin Winslow, the legislative director for Sen. Tony Stamas, R-Midland. Stamas is the subcommittee's chair.
"It's an issue of a scarce budget with limited resources and if there is going to be an increase to anyone," Winslow said. "It's not a matter of if they deserve an increase, it's a matter of if there is going to be the money to give them."
