Letter to the editor: Home-care worker shortage at crisis level

As the owner of a home care agency for almost 25 years, I’ve operated with the reality that the inadequate Medicaid reimbursement rates in Pennsylvania make it incredibly challenging to compete for a very limited pool of qualified workers. That challenge has now reached the level of impossible.

States set their reimbursement rates for Medicaid, and Pennsylvania has fallen far behind every state that borders us. We now have a crisis — every month 112,500 in-home care visits go unstaffed, all because the state refuses to adjust up our reimbursement rates. In my agency, we regularly leave up to 5% of our weekly shifts unstaffed due to a lack of workers.

This is no longer just a workforce crisis; now it’s an access to care crisis, because I just can’t attract or keep even average level workers, let alone well-qualified ones. I’m turning down clients who need care on a weekly basis, and it is heart-wrenching.

The state budget is being negotiated right now. We need Democrats and Republicans, including Allegheny County’s state Sen. Jay Costa, to come together, face this reality and finally do what it takes to address our inadequate reimbursement rates.

Kimberly Pirilla-Scalise

West Mifflin