Home Care Left Behind in McKee Budget Proposal - Michael Bigney

Home Care Left Behind in McKee Budget Proposal - Michael Bigney

Governor Dan McKee missed an opportunity within his most recent state budget proposal to save taxpayers significant money in the long term. Home care providers save the state money by providing cost-effective healthcare in the homes of Rhode Island’s most vulnerable, homebound population. By keeping home care patients comfortable and remaining safe in their homes, the state saves money by avoiding the expenses from repeat hospitalizations and emergency department visits followed by interim rehabilitation and long-term nursing home placements.

Rhode Island cannot afford to continue to subsidize nursing homes and hospitals without taking immediate action to rebalance its financing of long-term services and supports toward home care. Our state needs to capitalize on the "once in a lifetime opportunity” to use American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) federal funding provided to the state to achieve long-term savings that outweigh all investments into home care.

Home care can offer year-over-year savings to the state’s annual budget once providers have the ability to compete in the labor market for quality direct care workers, such as nurses, nurse assistants, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and social workers, many of whom also work in facility-based healthcare settings. However, without access to APRA investments, the long waitlists for home care will continue to grow and patients will continue to frequent costly hospital emergency departments at taxpayers’ expense for ailments that can otherwise be treated or prevented at home.

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There are racial disparities associated with ignoring the needs of home care providers. Many of these providers are small, independent proprietors or “mom and pop” businesses that are predominantly women and minority-owned enterprises. Plus, there is a growing pool of minorities on Medicaid waitlists for services that do not have a workforce to prioritize their cases. If our state leaders claim to fight for racial equity, we need to address the injustice caused by disparities faced by home care providers, their employees who are our “healthcare heroes” and their prospective patients on these long waitlists.

As the General Assembly begins its review of Article 12 of the proposed state budget later this week, Speaker Joe Shekarchi and Senate President Dominick Ruggerio need to resolve our state’s inequities with delivering healthcare at home. This is Rhode Island’s moment to finally enact payment reform to right-size the nursing home industry, prevent repeat hospitalizations and allow more Rhode Islanders to reside in the comfort of their home and in their community safely with cost-effective home care services and supports.

Michael Bigney is a co-owner of Home Health and Hospice Care of Nursing Placement headquartered in Pawtucket and President of the Board of Directors for the Rhode Island Partnership for Home Care.