HomeCare 2019 Salary & Benefits Survey: HHA

HomeCare’s Salary & Benefits survey steps into the business processes and minds of business owners to study trends in salary, hiring and human resource practices. For those on the frontlines of care, it’s important to keep up with the competition. Conducted annually, the survey asks industry leaders for feedback on their practices. We hope the results provide readers with information that will benefit their businesses and better inform decisions moving forward. Let this survey serve as your guide.

You can see the data for the HME space here.

Growth Ahead

Home health agencies (HHA) are growing in response to aging trends as baby boomers move into the space and wish to age at home. As the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) bears down on the industry, and skilled caregivers become harder to find, salary and benefits trends will be important to watch.

The 9 percent of respondents who answered “Other” work mainly in primary care and pediatric services, and in the long-term care space for the home health industry. One respondent works in home health education.

Focus Defined

Seventy-nine percent of survey respondents said they will not expand into any new service offerings. Twenty-one percent of respondents indicated there is a labor shortage in the field preventing expansion into new service lines for customers.

As expected, leaders in the home health space are primarily registered nurses (RN). Those holding masters degrees follow next in line, tailed closely by those with a high school diploma, who make up 16 percent of survey respondents.

Benefits Offered

In an industry where expertise and certification carry major weight, HHA is stepping up. Business owners in the HHA space are offering 13 percent more tuition reimbursement benefits than HME business owners. Fifty-three percent of HHA respondents report adding more flexible plans to help retain valuable employees.

New Hires in 2019

In the home health and private duty space, agencies are hiring and onboarding staff at a strong pace, primarily as caregivers for patients served (66 percent home health, 49 percent nonmedical). Sixteen percent of agencies report an interest in building their billing and collections departments ahead of PDGM.

Staff changes in 2018

Salaried vs. Hourly

Eighty-eight percent of HHA respondents are salaried, and 56 percent are owners or members of the C-suite. Twelve percent of respondents are hourly employees, with human resources and clerical support comprising the largest group after nurses. Of the nurses who responded to the survey, 6 percent are salaried and 4 percent are hourly. The majority of both salaried and hourly respondents have been in their positions for more than 10 years.

Outsourced Skills & Services

Outsourcing was flat in 2018. With some remaining IT, digital marketing, payroll, recruiting, coding and billing needs, 51 percent of companies outsourced their staffing needs, and 47 percent did not. Of the companies that outsourced last year, about half reported needing fewer outsourced workers.

Twelve percent of companies report being dependent on travel nurses in 2018, utilizing the skills and expertise of these professionals to fill out staffing shortages.

Money Talks

Sixty-two percent of respondents gave or received a raise last year, leaving HHA just behind HME’s 67 percent.

Thirty-five percent of HHAs recognized employees in 2018 with performance-based raises. Unlike the HME industry, length of service did not factor in highly, while cost of living adjustments rose in consideration for the competitive caregiver job market.