Protect the availability of care to the elderly and the infirm

The companionship services exemption was intended to protect the interests of the elderly and the infirm who cannot care for themselves. Eliminating the exemption will do little to improve the working conditions of home care aides who need health insurance and career opportunities. Without increasing spending from government home care programs or imposing higher charges to vulnerable patients, home care aide employers can only restrict working hours and avoid overtime pay.

Most home care providers are small businesses with limited resources. The companionship exemption result would be to reduce the availability of care to the elderly and the infirm and to increase the costs of service delivery with no corresponding increase from third party payers, such as Medicaid.

The unique employment nature of home care warrants a tailored approach to wage and hour requirements that takes into account that the focus of the employment is a population of vulnerable and infirm elderly a persons with disabilities in their own homes. Read More.

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Subject:

Protect the availability of care to the elderly

Dear Official,

I am writing to express my concerns about the recent changes to the longstanding exemption for certain home care employees providing "companionship services" from the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act.  The Department of Labor's new rule significantly restricts the exemption and makes it inapplicable to workers employed by home care companies. The new rule took effect on January 1, 2015.

Most home care is paid for by government programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and the Administration on Aging. When it is purchased privately, the clients are elderly or disabled individuals with very limited resources. These payment programs, which are already financially unstable, will need to increase spending to cover the added cost of wages that would result from removing the companionship services exemption. In addition, individuals purchasing such care on their own may not be able to afford the added charges for overtime care or live-in services.

The companionship services exemption was intended to protect the interests of individuals who cannot care for themselves. Also, eliminating the exemption will do little to improve the working conditions of home care aides who need health insurance and career opportunities. Without increasing spending from government home care programs or imposing higher charges to vulnerable patients, home care aide employers can only restrict working hours and avoid overtime pay.  Notably, the National Association of Medicaid Directors and the National Council on Disability have asked the Department of Labor to delay the initiation of the new rule because of the potential impact on Medicaid beneficiaries and state Medicaid programs.

I ask that you protect access to home care services by supporting the rescission of the new overtime rule and the reinstatement of the standard that has been in place since 1975. Finally, I hope that you will work with the home care community to find good ways to balance the interests of all stakeholders in care, especially the interests of the patient and home care worker.

Regards, Your Name

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