Reader Response: Pay caregivers better

March 18-- Mar. 18--A majority of area respondents believe the Minnesota Legislature should approve a pay increase for caregivers who work with the elderly and disabled, according to a Free Press online question.

Out of 228 total respondents, 188 voters -- almost 83 percent -- believe Minnesota should pay caregivers more money. Only 40 voters disagreed.

Minnesota caregivers make $11.50 to $12.22 an hour on average, according to the Government Accountability Office. But rural caregivers typically make less than similar workers in the metro area, with some in south-central Minnesota making a little more than $9 an hour.

Caregiver pay depends on state and federal insurance reimbursements, which is why advocates have lobbied lawmakers over the years to increase reimbursement rates to give workers raises.

The Best Life Alliance, a coalition of caregiver groups around the state, secured a 5 percent wage increase from the state in 2013 and a 2 percent increase in 2009. Yet Minnesota caregivers also weathered a 7 percent cut in the state's Medicaid waiver program to pay for various disability services, which went into effect last year.

Hundreds of caregivers and advocates rallied at the Capitol Tuesday in support of several bills that could raise caregiver pay.

Gov. Tim Walz included a 4.7 percent raise in his $49 billion budget proposal last month, while advocates have promoted legislation that would give an 8.7 percent increase. Rep. Jack Considine, DFL-Mankato, has sponsored legislation to create new state and federal reimbursement classifications for caregivers and raise starting pay to $14 an hour.

Considine's bill is by far the most ambitious out of the proposed legislation to increase caregiver wages. Any of the proposed increases would help cover a gap between caregivers and workers in other, comparable industries, according to a recent state fiscal analysis. Democrats and Republicans alike appear ready to support a wage increase this year, but it's unclear how much money they'll agree upon during end-of-session negotiations.

The Free Press online question, sent out Thursday, asked, "Should Minnesota increase caregiver pay this year?"

There were two options to answer, "yes" or "no."

While some commenters mistook caregivers for child care professionals -- the term caregivers is a catch-all for direct support professionals, personal care attendants and other, similar titles -- most commenters agreed caregivers deserve to be paid more for the work they do.

"The question concerns personal care attendants who provide care to disabled individuals of all ages so they may remain in their homes instead of living in a facility," Lynn Solo wrote. "Facilities are quite expensive and would require more taxpayer dollars than care in the home. Caregivers are paid so poorly at state tax funding rates that agencies cannot keep sufficient staff. This puts the disabled at risk of needing facility care or suffering neglect."

Beverly Stoufer wrote, "Nursing homes and home care are in need of more employees. It is hard to hire staff and some places are short staffed which takes away from care for all residents. A caring staff makes the quality of life for both staff and consumer better. People can make more money at McDonald's than workers in home care and nursing homes."

Kevin Christian wrote, "Personal care attendants provide a great service and should be paid a competitive wage for the value they contribute."

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