Home Health Workers in Modesto Make Less Than $15 An Hour: Harder Pushes to Raise Wages

WASHINGTON — Today, Representative Josh Harder (CA-10) is pushing a new provision in the reconciliation bill to raise wages for the thousands of home health workers caring for the Central Valley's seniors and disabled individuals. According to recent data, the average home health worker in the Modesto area makes $14.45 an hour, only 45 cents above minimum wage.

More than half of home health workers nationwide rely on some form of public assistance like food stamps to have enough to get by. From 2009 to 2019, these frontline health care workers have seen their wages increase by only 19 cents an hour. At the same time, women of color who work as home health workers face pay disparities of more than $1 an hour compared to their white male counterparts. Recent studies predict that the number of seniors nationwide will double by 2050 while the population of those older than 85 will triple.

"Our home health workers give our parents and grandparents the care they deserve. No way should they make less than $15 an hour or have to go on food stamps while doing that incredible work," said Rep. Harder. "Walking a day in the shoes of one of these folks I got to see the level of skill, compassion, and understanding that goes into their jobs. I'm committed to fighting to get them the wages they need."

Rep. Harder recently spent a day with an SEIU home health worker in action. Photos are available for public use here.

The House of Representatives is currently working to include new federal money to support state investments in programs for home and community-based health services in its reconciliation bill. This investment would work to increase home health aide wages in addition to hiring new workers and improving care for seniors. Recent polling shows more than 80% of Americans of all political stripes support new investments in long-term care.