Hunter
01/20/26
A new survey reports health care workers leave the profession mainly because their pay isn’t enough to make ends meet.
The Gazette reports direct care workers, nursing homes and aging services providers agree that it’s past time to increase wages, and they say better pay wouldn’t only help staff, it would help employers and residents by reducing turnover and shortages. But the industry’s reliance on government funding means solutions aren’t so simple.
Roughly 1 in 4 full-time direct care workers, including certified nurse aides, home care aides, direct support professionals and others who provide hands-on care in any setting. have more than one job.
The median hourly wage for direct care workers has risen to $19.72 in 2025, but accounting for inflation, pay only increased by $2.62 hours over the last six years. Employers say Medicaid reimbursements are a key influence of worker wages, and those reimbursements only cover about 82 percent of the cost of care for nursing home residents.
A link to the 2025 Direct Care Worker Wage and Benefit Survey is available with this story at 1630 KCJJ dot com and on the KCJJ app.