IMPLAN’s Post

Ever swallowed a bitter pill? Here's one: The wage stagnation of our frontline healthcare warriors over the last decade. Let's examine the landscape. Our healthcare workers, the very individuals fighting on the front lines of our most challenging health crises, have seen little to no wage growth in the past 10 years. This, despite the escalating demands and risks associated with their roles. Consider this: The cost of living has increased exponentially over the same period. Yet, the compensation for these hard-working professionals has barely budged. It's not just about economics; it's about respect, recognition, and appreciation for their essential services. Moreover, this wage stagnation is a ticking time bomb for our healthcare system. How long can we expect these professionals to continue their heroic work without adequate financial recognition? How long until the pressure causes a mass exodus, leaving our healthcare system in a crisis? This is not a plea for sympathy, but a call for action. Let's advocate for fair wage growth for our healthcare workers. Let's ensure they get the recognition and compensation they deserve. After all, a society is only as healthy as its healthcare providers. Share this post if you stand for equitable wage growth for our healthcare workers. Let's start a conversation that matters.

Access and right to care is always the priority, however there are cost associated with creating this access. #elproyectodelbarrio #esperanza #sanfernadovalleyhealth #dentistry #publichealthdentistry #dentalpublic health #communityhealth #fqhc #publichealth #communityhealthcare #communityhealthworkers #publichealthmatters #communityclinics #sanfernandovalley #NoOnSB525

So, the State of California is proposing to delay their new $25 per hour minimum wage for all healthcare workers because they are concerned about the impact on the state budget. It's a shame that they couldn't care less about the impact this new law has on hospitals, physicians, and other providers not run by the state. Only after proposing, approving, and signing the bill into place did our representatives actually pause to consider how much this ridiculous new law would cost. The additional cost to our independent local public health system is going to be $30M per year. And how much additional reimbursement/revenue will we get to help pay for it? Not only is the answer zero dollars, the same state has now passed other new laws capping our annual increases in revenue. Yeah, somehow the State is controlling our costs and also our revenue from commercial and government payers. Hard to understand how it is legal... #sb525 #california #cha #healthcare #hospitals https://lnkd.in/gg4BR73M

This new compensation structure will put tremendous pressure on California health systems, who are already struggling with significant costs increases across the board, brought on by the pandemic. Workers at healthcare facilities with 10,000 or more full-time equivalent employees will earn $23 per hour starting in 2024, with pay increasing to $24 an hour in 2025 and $25 an hour in 2026. Smaller facilities and hospitals with a high governmental payer mix will have until 2028 or 2033 to reach the $25 minimum, depending on the type of facility. #hospitals #healthsystems

Effective June 1, 2024, California is set to enact new minimum wage standards for healthcare workers, aimed at tackling economic disparities and enhancing living standards within the sector. ➡️Integrated Healthcare Systems and Large Hospitals: Institutions with over 10,000 full-time employees must elevate their minimum wage from $23 per hour to $25 per hour by 2026. Subsequently, wage increases will be annually adjusted for inflation, capped at 3.5% post-2026. ➡️Rural and Independent Hospitals in Smaller Counties: In counties with populations under 250,000, rural and independent hospitals will incrementally raise wages from $18 per hour in 2024 to $25 per hour by 2033. ➡️Other Healthcare Facilities: This includes skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and home health services, where minimum wages will ascend from $21 per hour in 2024 to $25 per hour by June 1, 2028. These adjustments signify a commitment to uplifting healthcare workers' financial well-being, ensuring fair compensation and dignity in their vital roles within California's healthcare landscape. #minimumwage #healthcareworkers #economicdisparities #healthcaresystem #healthcare

It's #TipTuesday! Brittany Hernandez provides this week's tip reminding healthcare employers in California that the minimum wage increase will likely be delayed: A new budget deal is expected to push back the July 1, 2024 deadline that requires healthcare employers in California to pay workers a higher minimum wage. The new law establishes minimum hourly wages for covered health care employees based upon the following categories of the health care facility: Category 1 - $23.00 for large health centers; Category 2 - $18.00 for covered hospitals with high populations of Medicare/Medicaid patients, covered rural medical centers, and covered county facilities; Category 3 - $21.00 for clinics; and Category 4 - $21.00 for all other covered health care facilities. These minimum wage rates will increase annually. Healthcare employers should review the Department of Health Care Access and Information fact sheet to determine which category and minimum wage applies and act accordingly. #employmentlaw #California #healthcare #minimumwage

Today, SB 525 passed out of the California Assembly's Appropriations Committee. This bill would make the minimum wage for all healthcare workers $21 in 2024 and $25 in 2025. We all love and appreciate healthcare workers, but this bill is not how we should try to support them. A $25 per hour minimum wage for all workers- clinical staff, housekeeping, maintenance, finance, administration, etc. would add $8 billion in new annual costs to California healthcare providers. • $2.4 billion for hospital care • $1.1 billion for home health services • $1.3 billion for skilled-nursing facility care • $870 million for physician care • $660 million for outpatient clinic care Kaweah Health, with 4,900 employees, is the largest employer in Tulare and Kings Counties. This bill would cost us $25 million per year. That's $25 million we do not have. These new costs come with $0.00 in new income for providers- certainly no additional funding from the State. And they come at a time when 50% of California hospitals are losing money. If this bill passes, several things will occur: • Hospitals and other providers would send any jobs they can out of state. California would lose thousands of jobs. • Hospitals would close. Others would cut back on services. This would mostly likely happen in critically underserved areas, often where there is a single hospital provider. Medi-Cal (Medicaid) patients would be impacted the most. Where would these residents get their care? • Other business, such as restaurants, hotels, and other service industries would be forced to compete with the $25 hourly rate for housekeepers, maintenance, security, administration, etc. Unlike healthcare, these business can raise their prices and pass the costs on to consumers (great, more inflation). Healthcare providers are paid under contracts and cannot increase our prices. I honestly do not know what the supporters of this bill expect to gain. More union dues, perhaps? In reality, yes, some people will get raises. But many more people will lose their jobs. And even more people will lose their access to local healthcare. This bill must not be passed into law. There are other ways to support and appreciate our invaluable workers. I urge anyone who supports healthcare and/or their local economy to contact your representatives in the Assembly and Senate to vote no on SB 525. #NoOnSB525 #sb525 #california #hospitals #cha #senatordurazo #durazo #shannongrove #vincefong #devonmathis

California is raising the minimum wage for healthcare workers to $25 per hour, effective January 2024. The law is designed to address the shortage of healthcare workers in the state and to ensure that healthcare workers are paid a fair wage. How it can affect you? ➡ Increased costs: Healthcare providers will have to pay more for labor costs, which could lead to higher healthcare costs for patients. ➡ Reduced margins: Healthcare providers may have to reduce their margins or raise prices in order to offset the increased labor costs. This could make healthcare less affordable for patients. ➡ Reduced competitiveness: Healthcare providers may be less competitive with healthcare providers in other states with lower labor costs. #Minimumwage #RCM #Medicalbilling #Medicalcoding #Qwayhealthcare Read here: https://lnkd.in/gAAg_tTK

Happy Labour Day! My latest piece for ZBPlus https://lnkd.in/gKQ_Vg6j on the train wreck pay equity claim process for 16500 care workers that was supposed to be settled well before the election. The Ministry of Health New Zealand and Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand, not parties to the claim, are delaying the process with an ad hoc review when the 15 employers and 3 unions are united and ready to bargain. The clock is ticking. Care workers' pay rate law expires in December 2023. Dr Shane Reti will have little choice but to make fixing this debacle (not the fault of the parties) a priority. In my column I argue that the new National-led government need not be afraid of this claim because it's done this before and there is experience to call on. The previous National government settled the last pay equity claim for care workers in 2017 thanks to the leadership of finance minister Bill English, health minister Jonathan Coleman and crown negotiator Doug Martin. Whether Dr Reti gets the band back together or simply seeks advice is up to him. The point is it's been done before, there's a settlement that's close and the December 31st expiry is not far away. Meanwhile care workers, a critical part of the New Zealand health system, continue to wait. The health system would collapse without this 95% female workforce many of whom are still on the minimum wage. #agedcare #careworkers #payequity #caring

California's #minimunwage going up to $25/hr for healthcare workers. Large health systems with more than 10,000 workers and dialysis clinics must implement the law fully by 2026. Rural independent hospitals and those with a high mix of Medi-Cal and Medicare patients have until 2033 to implement the new wage minimums.