New York’s homecare association issued a sweeping report this week that shows that the state’s home health, hospice and personal care agencies can’t keep up with demand for services and were hit hard by pandemic-related expenses. The State of the Industry released by the Home Care Association of New York State found that 55% of agencies had a negative operating margin in 2019; overall, they saw about $200 million in overall increased costs due to COVID-19, including unreimbursed personal protective equipment. Staff turnover rates are near 25% and most say their pre-existing workforce shortages were made worse by COVID-19. Of course, this is just one state—but one with a rapidly-increasing senior population and some 700,000 patients who experience homecare and hospice each year. We’ll be keeping an eye out for this kind of data from other states; meanwhile, you can read more and find a link to the full report here. 

 

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Sydel Howell is the owner and chief operating officer of San Diego Homecare Supplies. In the latest episode of the HomeCare Podcast, she shares how her company survived–and thrived—in 2020. Listen now.