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How Home Care Overtime Can Cost You a Fortune

Is your home care provider effective at managing its schedule? If not, you could be on the hook for unnecessary home care overtime.

Home care overtime affects seniors by limiting how many hours a caregiver can work per week.

While overtime laws are a net positive, they prevent caregivers from accepting more jobs in the field of eldercare. As a result, caregivers are often disappointed that they have to leave behind clients they regard very highly.

You can choose to pay the extra cost of having a caregiver over forty hours per week, but that’s a rare exception. When that situation does occur, it usually only lasts for short periods.

So, we decided to go over how overtime affects home care companies and you. Just remember, every state has different overtime laws.

What you’ll learn in this article:

Cost of Goods Sold

“Cost of goods sold” is the total cost for items or services a business provides that form the backbone of the company’s revenue. Without this good or service, the company would no longer exist.

For a grocery store, it’s their food; for Ford Motor Co., it’s their cars; for us, it’s our caregivers. These goods and services are typically the biggest expense a company has – it’s the product they’re directly selling.

How You Can Deal With Home Care Overtime

As mentioned before, overtime laws become difficult when a client bonds with a specific caregiver and looks for as many hours with that person as possible. When we mention the additional cost of going into overtime, it usually ends the conversation quickly. The cost can be prohibitive.

It’s tough for families to establish a connection between a client and a caregiver and then realize it’s not financially feasible. You do have the choice to spend the extra money, but since many agencies can’t afford to absorb the cost, most clients can’t either.

Minute Women can help you plan for your home care needs. Explore our services to see how we can assist you.

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Home Care Overtime Inflation

As costs go up for many businesses, unfortunately so do our rates. This inflation, naturally, causes overtime rates to increase as well. So as costs go up over the years, this will continue to cause overtime rates to increase.  

When costs increase, that reflects in the prices of a company’s goods and services. As minimum wages increase, so too do non-minimum wage employees, as rising tides raise all boats. Included in the pricing are increases in inflation, which amounts to about 3% per year on average.

Who Pays for Home Care Overtime?

You should know when and why you will have to pay for overtime. Understandably, families can get upset when overtime bills hit their wallets, and they want to understand why they’re responsible for footing the bill. There are scenarios where we pass the costs along and others where we do not.  

No matter the situation, we always try and prevent going into overtime. It keeps our clients happy and our seniors safe at the lowest costs possible.

We pass along overtime costs when the reason for overtime is out of our control. For Minute Women, the two common culprits are national holidays and snowstorms.

When snowstorms are threatening, we pre-plan in the days leading up to the storm to provide coverage without caregivers going into overtime. However, this advanced scheduling isn’t always possible. We always give you the choice of coverage, but sometimes that decision is one you aren’t prepared to make. 

With as many storms as we receive in New England, we believe we do an outstanding job minimizing overtime from Nor’easters.

When Minute Women absorbs over time, it’s because the circumstance was preventable or our fault. In other words, car breakdowns, family emergencies, or miscommunication can create last-minute call-outs. These are all reasons we would absorb the cost of overtime if the caregiver has already worked forty hours that week.

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Understanding Caregiver Minimum Hours

Is your family interested in exploring caregiver minimum hours? We are happy to accept all cases that we receive regardless of their size, but it’s important to understand the difficulties with staffing these cases.  

Additionally, some families question why tasks are taking so long, which can be frustrating when families pay by the hour. People want to minimize their costs but might not understand how long tasks are taking their loved ones.

What you will learn in this article:

What Minimum Hours Are

Caregiver minimum hours are the minimum blocks of time you can request from a home care company. Many in our area have minimums between three and five hours at a time. 

Generally, blocks cannot be split, meaning, if the minimum is five hours and a customer requests two three-hour blocks of time, the thought is that it is over the five-hour minimum. Sadly, this would be incorrect. The minimum is the blocks of time you can purchase.  

Why Have Minimums

At Minute Women Home Care, we try and staff every case regardless of size. Our minimum is one hour of care.  

The reason why many agencies have caregiver minimum hours is for two reasons: scheduling and staffing.

 

Staffing

It is difficult to get caregivers to accept low blocks of time. The reason is their return on investment. They need to get ready, drive to the case, work the case and then drive home. They may spend more time driving to the case than actually working on it.

What is the minimum amount of time you would want to earn to drive to work each day? Caregivers have the same priorities, hence the caregiver minimum hours.

 

Scheduling

Scheduling a low-hour case takes more time and effort than a higher-hour case because they are less desirable, as explained above. So from the agency owner’s perspective, their schedule is less productive on a less good case than a high our case, so why accept the client? This decision leads agency owners to decline low-hour cases because, in their eyes, it isn’t worth the time.

Additionally, if a client is unhappy with the care they are getting, this requires even more time spent on the case by the office staff, which means profit margins further decline. For many agency owners, taking low-hour cases does not make business sense.

 

Minute Women Home Care

We look at low-hour cases as opportunities. While everything above is true – they aren’t big revenue generators and do take time to schedule and find the right caregivers – we still appreciate them. 

Home care is a word-of-mouth business, and the more happy clients we service, the more referrals we receive. We never know when a three-hour case could turn into thirty hours a week or when that low-hour case knows a neighbor who will need live-in care.

Find the right caregiver for you or your loved one with Minute Women Home Care

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Expectations

Even if your family is familiar with the time, it takes to provide care. The real-time projection can be different. Families might not realize that mom has declined further, and it takes longer to do tasks that once were easy.

When it comes to a senior, they want to be independent. They want to have control of their own life still, and our caregivers are there to provide that to them. So we are not there to rush them down the hall or put their clothes on for them. 

Imagine if everything you do each day took five or ten minutes longer. How much extra time would that add to your morning schedule when you get ready for work?

At Minute Women Home Care, we balance independence with convenience. We assist seniors when appropriate and patiently wait while they complete other tasks themselves. Our caregivers respect the seniors they serve. How would you feel if you had to rush through your daily routine? 

Most families are not asking us to rush their loved one but may not understand how much their parent has slowed down. When we plan our caregiver minimum hours, we always remind them to be patient and respectful of a senior’s wishes.

Learn more about everything Minute Women has to offer to make your home care transition easier.

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The Long Road Ahead for Senior Housing

Senior housing was battered by the pandemic, leaving seniors forced into isolation for extended periods. Imagine being alone in a 250 square-foot room for twelve months, feeling like you are in prison.

That is how hundreds of thousands have felt over the last 16 months.  These buildings exist to entice their residents into the community to interact, be social, and enjoy others’ company. All that backfired when the pandemic started.

While hopes are high, there is still a reason for concern.

Signs are pointing to a status quo for 2021 with continued lockdowns, social distancing, and restrictions. A rally in senior housing is unlikely this year.

How Is Senior Housing Going to Adapt?

Senior housing has been expanding and building new communities for decades. In the Boston area, there are multiple communities per town. Many of these communities are only 50-70% occupied. In other words, every third or fourth community could consolidate into other communities.

The future isn’t so bright.

COVID will continue for 2021, potentially leaving 2022 as a full recovery year (hopefully). If the vaccine is only 80-90% effective, this leaves 10-20% of people who can still get sick. Who do you think those “people” will be?

At-risk seniors, the very seniors who reside in senior housing communities.

If COVID becomes similar to the flu, where annual vaccinations for new variants are required, does this mean there will be outbreaks each winter?

The fear of annual outbreaks, deaths, and mandatory isolation will cause families to reconsider if senior housing is right for them, slowing their recovery or even preventing it from ever happening.

Additionally, if the vaccines are effective but not perfect, seniors are likely the population that will indefinitely be at-risk each winter when the outbreaks occur.

Recovery for these communities is not guaranteed, and I propose consolidation and contraction are likely to occur before an immediate bounce-back. There will be a hangover effect of families who are still apprehensive about moving their at-risk parent into a community.

What family wouldn’t be concerned about their loved one moving into senior housing after what has happened in the last twelve months?  

  • Indefinite isolation
  • Not seeing your parents for months
  • Risk of death
  • Dying alone
  • The mental and physical decline from isolation and lack of exercise

So there is going to be a lot to consider when deciding what the right move is. Especially for the traditional side of senior housing.

The Challenges of Dementia

For many families whose parents have dementia, the decision is a bit easier. They can’t care for their parent anymore, and they know the disease is only going to progress and make things harder.  Moving their parent into a community that specifically focuses on that disease provides everyone with a better quality of life.

Additionally, their parent has a disease that is going to cause them to die. Many with dementia may no longer recognize their own family, and their quality of life is already suffering.  So the risk of dying from COVID is somewhat mitigated because they are on that journey already.

While that might sound terrible to say, you would be surprised at how many families are relieved when their loved one dies after a decade-long journey with dementia.  I have heard numerous times, “My mom died a long time ago. I was caring for the body.”

For the traditional side, it is going to be a long road ahead. Those families have more options, and many seniors who in the past were open to senior housing are now refusing and wish to age in place no matter what. 

Senior housing has a long road ahead before it reaches the light at the end of this tunnel. In the meantime, we can find you a caregiver that can provide your mom or dad with quality care right at home. Above all, we provide peace of mind that someone is there to watch over your parents.

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How Long Are Home Care Turn-Around Times?

Home care turn-around times are the single most important factor in helping families in crisis. There’s a common expression in our office: “Nothing good happens on a Friday after 2 pm.”

When hospitals and rehab units discharge their patients, many of these departments close for the weekend. However, we know that we need to provide immediate attention when we receive these calls each week.

Some agencies do this better than others. 

We were once called the day after a fall occurred. The client’s mother was about to be discharged from the hospital on a Friday afternoon. Of course, no one in this family was ready for this timing. They didn’t have a plan to get together hospital discharge care with such short notice.

Frankly, most families don’t.

As the baby boomer generation ages and increasingly relies on senior care service, the challenge to provide care falls on adult children. More of these boomers’ children live out of state, complicating their ability to support aging parents. In some instances, distance makes home care impossible.

What you’ll learn in this article:

Home Care Turn-Around Times: How Do I Get Started?

There are plenty of reasons why the home care company you choose should have fast turn-around times. For example, when you need hospital discharge and rehab services, you need them quickly, suddenly, and unexpectedly.

You should look for an agency that:

  • Will answer the phone during business hours,
  • Doesn’t rely on answering services, voicemails, or automated messages,
  • Provides easy, on-call services after-hours and on weekends,
  • Is happy to accommodate services on weekends or after business hours.

When you need help quickly, Minute Women is the type of agency that can take care of your parents.

Can Your Agency Provide Immediate Service?

The easiest way to find out is to ask an agency directly. Most will be honest about their home care turn-around times. One tip to learn if an agency can quickly respond to emergency cases is by looking at their staff page on their website.

If you see that they have an HR Manager or a Recruiter on staff, the agency can likely provide immediate services in a crisis.

The reason is that the primary focus of these roles is to recruit, hire, and onboard caregivers. Therefore, the more quality caregivers an agency has, the better equipped they are to accept emergency cases.

It would be the equivalent of a car dealership having limited stock and asking you to wait a few weeks when you’re looking to purchase a car today. Some agencies are just more prepared than others.

Minute Women’s Hospital and Rehab Discharge Plan

Minute Women has helped thousands of families in crisis. We’ve onboarded seniors after-hours and even on Christmas Eve. 

When a call comes in for immediate service, our goal is to provide quality caregivers. Therefore, we take the time to understand the situation’s goals and objects.

We’re not bound to closing the office at 5 pm. We’ll still work with you to ensure we have services for your mom or dad.

When time is a factor, we’re more concerned about finding a quality caregiver than matching long-term availability. Sometimes, that needs to wait until after the weekend or holiday has passed. 

If our original caregiver isn’t a fit, we can reassess and find a replacement caregiver.

A last-minute discharge or emergency goal can leave you scrambling for options, but don’t worry. We’ll find you a caregiver that can provide your mom or dad with quality care on your schedule. Above all, we provide peace of mind that someone is there to watch over your parents.

Do you need immediate help with your soon to be discharged loved one?

Minute Women Can help! Call us now!

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How Much Does Private Home Care Cost?

The biggest question everyone is asking, Googling, and researching: how much is private home care going to cost my family?

Short answer: a lot.

It is by no means cheap, though it is cheaper than other senior care alternatives. 

 

Genworth Insurance

Genworth is an insurance company that offers long-term care insurance, among other products.

Each year, they release their cost of care study.  This study used to be annual or bi-annual, but now it is just a free tool online that anyone can use!

What’s great about this tool is that it is not only state-specific but specific to each region of your state.  This development is especially important outside of New England in the large states around the USA.  So if you live in a state like California or Florida, you will have specific data to your region of the state to plan in detail.

What is great about this tool is that it also compares home care costs to the costs of assisted living and nursing home facilities.  This way, you can contrast and compare the three main options for senior care services.  The big three – private home care, assisted living, and nursing homes.

 

It’s Expensive

One important thing to recognize is that once you start researching senior care options, you will quickly see that no option from the big three is inexpensive. It all adds up quickly.

With Genworth, you can compare the services and what their costs are. For example, you can enter the number of hours for private home care and can compare that to assisted living and nursing home rates.

In the Massachusetts area, there is a range, with Boston being the most expensive home care costs at ~$33/hr, which for 40 hours a week of care would equal $5,200 per month. However, assisted living services to cost $6,100 per month, and nursing homes would cost $14,000 per month. So, in this case, private home care would be the least expensive.

It isn’t easy comparing the big three to one another. As detailed in a previous post, I do not consider private home care and assisted living communities to be competitors. We offer different services.

If you move your parent into an assisted living facility, their faculties may continue to decline. If she continues to decline, you may need to hire a private agency like Minute Women if they wish to stay at home instead.

This move will often dramatically raise your out-of-pocket costs and add stress to an already difficult situation.

Do you need help navigationg your home care options? We can help!

Contact Minute Women Home Care Today.

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Insurance for Private Home Care Cost

Unfortunately, private health insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid does not reimburse for private home care services at the moment. So for the vast majority of customers, they will be paying out of pocket.

What can help mitigate the cost is long-term care insurance. Long-term care insurance is a product that you can pay upfront for or with installments. Once your parent has qualified for eligibility, you will be reimbursed up to the daily limit that your policy calls for private home care, assisted living, or nursing home services.

 

Reverse Mortgages

Reverse mortgages had a bad reputation for a long time and deservedly so. Little regulation and predatory tactics caused its downfall. Things have changed.

As seniors age, their largest asset is their home. They are cash-poor but house-rich, and reverse mortgages allow a senior to take equity out of their home to pay for senior care services and other necessary expenses that pop up.

There are many towns outside of Boston where working-class adult purchased their home in 1960 for $50,000, and it is now worth $900,000. Now older, they can use this equity to support their plans to age-in-place. In addition, with reverse mortgages, they have another tool to consider for paying for senior care-related services.

We will have a reverse mortgage specialist who will answer questions about reverse mortgages on our podcast The Caregiver’s Toolbox soon. Don’t miss it!

 

The Gap in Private Home Care Cost

As the cost of care increased because of inflation and labor costs, there is an ever-widening gap of people who cannot pay for senior care services. While nursing homes can be paid for by Medicaid, there is a seven-year look-back period. So if there are assets that can pay for the nursing home, they will find them.

Many find themselves too “rich” for Medicaid and state services but too “poor” to pay for private home care and assisted living costs for those looking to age-in-place. In Massachusetts, we are in the process of increasing the minimum wage to $15 per hour. We pay our caregivers more than this minimum wage. Why? Because we believe rising tides raise all boats. The wages of caregivers directly correlate to home care costs.

As these rates rise (my guess is within the next five years, private home care rates will reach $40/hr.), middle-class seniors cannot afford this home care cost.

Rising rates will also leave people who can afford services unable to afford the full amount they need. For example, a senior who needs twelve hours of care per day might only receive eight hours five days per week due to the increased costs.

Caregivers deserve a living wage, but there is always another side of the coin: costs will be rising dramatically over the next few years, leaving more people unable to pay for desperately needed services.

 

Key Takeaways for Private Home Care Costs

The big three of senior care (assisted living, nursing home, and home care) are experiences. These home care cost options add up quickly, and for some, even the least expensive (home care) is still too expensive to consider.

Some options pay for services like long-term care insurance, but most are out-of-pocket by utilizing savings, retirement accounts, or the equity they have developed in their home.

A great tool is the Genworth cost-of-care tool that allows you to compare what services cost in the different parts of the country and within your state of residence. If you feel you’re ready to explore the home care cost of senior care, call us today for a friendly chat about your options.

 

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CONTACT US
Contact Us:

Minute Women Home Care
594 Marrett Rd #13
Lexington, MA 02421
Phone: 781-862-3300
Fax: 781-861-7721

Service Area:

Arlington, Auburndale, Bedford, Belmont, Burlington, Cambridge, Lexington, Lincoln, Medford, Newton, Somerville, Waltham, Watertown, Wellesley, Weston, West Newton, Winchester, Woburn.

Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts Accredited
National Aging in Place Council Member Home Care Association of America Massachusetts