Bronxite Jose Hernandez has been quadriplegic since he had a spinal cord injury in 1995. He relies on four different caregivers throughout the week to help him with tasks such as cleaning his apartment, eating, bathing and going to the bathroom.
He hired them through the state’s Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program — a Medicaid program that some 200,000 New Yorkers rely on, and that has exploded in popularity in recent years . The program is meant to give patients flexibility in connecting with home health aides. Caregivers may be family or friends who receive training, rather than the licensed and certified professionals available through staffing agencies.
Gov. Kathy Hochul hopes to cut compensation for aides hired through the program, as part of a broader effort to shave upward of $1 billion off New York’s growing Medicaid budget. But some advocates say there are better ways to reduce home care spending without hitting workers’ wages.
Hernandez worries if Hochul succeeds with her proposal, it’ll be harder to hire the help he needs.