West Virginia is committing millions of dollars to address the critical need for home health care workers.
The Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) will invest about $240 million in federal Medicaid funds to increase rates for home health care and community-based service providers.
DHHR Secretary Bill Crouch said the pay increase will help recruit and retain a workforce providing a wide variety of services.
“A workforce providing Home and Community-Based Services through programs including the Aged and Disabled Waiver, the Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities Waiver, and the Children with Serious Emotional Disorders Waiver,” Crouch said. “We want to thank those workers in these agencies who perform these critical needed services for our clientele throughout the state.”
Crouch said the funds go to the many agencies that employ direct care workers.
“DHHR is directing that a minimum of 85 percent of the increased funds be used for increased wages and benefits for direct-care workers serving our vulnerable populations,” Crouch said.
DHHR’s Bureau for Medical Services will seek approval from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and expects the funds to be available in October 2022.