Why is Home Care So Expensive? Here’s Where Your Money Goes

When you call to research care options for your loved ones and hear the price, you likey say to yourself “oh gosh, why is it so much?”

As with everything, the rates are driven by demand and experience.

Most of the hourly rate goes directly to the caregiver for salary. Their wages are determined by level of experience and type of care they are expected to provide. The more care and attention a person needs, the more the caregiver will be paid.

The average hourly wage for a caregiver in New Jersey is $16.89, according to Indeed, an online career site. At Assisting Hands, we consistently pay our caregivers a wage that is much higher than this and they receive annual raises consummate with their performance reviews.

Two drivers for the wage rate are the minimum wage, which is $14.13 per hour in 2023 and the labor shortage. The minimum wage has been consistently increasing by $1 per hour for the past few years and will increase again to $15 on January 1, 2024.

To put things in perspective, two years ago the median national annual wage for home health and personal care aides was $29,430 in May 2021, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Each increase in the minimum wage forces business owners to increase all employees salaries to level them out.

There are other costs that factor into the rate.

The next biggest expense is worker’s compensation insurance, which is more than $1,800 per employee every year. Workers compensation insurance provides benefits and/or medical care for employees who are injured or become ill as a direct result of their job. This shifts all liability to the agency instead of the family, should something happen.

All employees are bonded and insured with several types of liability insurance, which is another expense of more than $20,000 per year.

There are a total of five office employees at Assisting Hands in addition to the team of caregivers.

Other expenses such as rent, computer software, office equipment and other miscellaneous things need to be added in as well.

By supporting a small business such as Assisting Hands, you are supporting the local community. All employees live where they work and the business puts money back into the community.

Gerry Patrizio, the owner of Assisting Hands Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean office, was recently recognized with the Community Service Award from the Assisting Hands corporate office for his dedication to supporting the communities his office serves.

Regular community service initiatives include supporting Fulfill, a food bank, resource center and job training program in Monmouth and Ocean Counties, the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, Alzheimer’s Association of Greater New Jersey, Caregiver Volunteers of Central Jersey and the Senior Citizens Activity Network.

Staff members also support causes that are meaningful to them such as veterans’ groups, mental health nonprofits, hospital committees and special needs organizations.

The value of time spent working on community service is valued at $32.39 per hour, according to the most recent Value of Volunteer Time report.

Small businesses have generated 12.9 million net new jobs over the past 25 years, accounting for two out of every three jobs added to the economy, according to the Small Business Administration. Small businesses have accounted for 66 percent of employment growth over the last 25 years.

Sixty-eight cents of every dollar spent at a small business in the US stays in the local community, based on data in the Small Business Economic Impact Study from American Express. Every dollar spent at small businesses creates an additional $0.48 in local business activity as a result of employees and local businesses purchasing local goods and services.

National Small Business Week (NSBW) will take place April 30-May 6, 2023. This annual tradition, led by the SBA for more than 60 years, is co-hosted by SCORE, mentors to America’s small businesses. During NSBW, the SBA recognizes the hard work, ingenuity, and dedication of America’s small businesses, and celebrates their contributions to the economy.