An estimated 13,000 home healthcare workers in Nevada are celebrating a big financial win Monday, as a new $16 minimum wage went into effect.
The pay raise is the result of legislation passed during the 2023 legislative session. SEIU 1107, the largest healthcare union in the state, petitioned lawmakers to raise the minimum wage for home health workers from $11 an hour to $16.
Regina Brown-Ross, a home care worker of six and a half years, says that making more will translate to better care for her clients because she won’t be as worried about her wallet.
“You know, we struggle from paycheck to paycheck. It helps us to keep a roof over our head, perhaps I’m not going to have to take that second job anymore, I can put gas in my car, food on my table. And not stress about it, how I’m going to make ends meet.”
Union leaders expect this increase will also make a career in home care more attractive. Research shows the state will need 5,300 more personal care aides by 2026.
The pay increase was part of a larger deal that increased the state’s Medicaid reimbursement rates for home health services from $17 an hour to $25 an hour.
