Illinois home care providers are receiving a retroactive pay bump for services provided through the state’s Medicaid program between Jan. 1 and March 31, 2021.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) announced Tuesday the state is funnelling $54 million into the Illinois Departments of Aging (IDOA) and the Illinois Department of Human Services to make up for a rate increase that was frozen last year due to the pandemic.
“One of the best ways we can recognize the workers who support our most vulnerable residents is by ensuring they can support themselves and their families,” Pritzker said. “I’m proud to deliver additional compensation, including retroactive pay for the early months of 2021, to the providers who bravely did their jobs as physical and mental caretakers during the pandemic. A strong social safety net begets a strong state, and Illinois is investing in the people who make in-home care for our seniors possible.”
In April, home care workers in IDOA’s Community Care Program (CCP), which covers nearly 70,000 older low-income Illinois residents, received an hourly rate hike of $23.20. The state will provide a one-time bonus to more than 400 home care providers from Jan. 1 through March 31, 2021. The rate increase is intended to help cover provider costs and stabilize the CCP program when the state’s $15 hourly minimum wage goes into effect next year.
