Talk about a racket! And one sponsored by the state, no less.
Albany is actually handing out billions to people claiming to be in-home “personal care” aides with little training and practically no oversight.
And — surprise, surprise — people are racing to milk the system for all they can get. They’re getting paid to care for their own parents.
The abuse began ramping up in 2016, when the state expanded its Medicaid program for “personal aides” — those who provide non-medical care to an elderly or disabled person who remains in his or her home, earning up to $21 an hour from the state.
The expansion allowed family or friends — nearly anyone, really — to qualify as an aide with little to no special training and no background checks required.
Medicaid home care program marketed to NYers on TikTok as a ‘get rich quick’ scheme
Indeed, Albany actually advertises the program as a way for young New Yorkers to stay home and get paid.
What could go wrong?
Sure enough, spending on personal care surged 178% from 2015 to 2021 —10 times faster than the growth of its elderly population — topping $12 billion a year, or “almost as much as the other 49 states’ spending combined,” the Empire Center’s Bill Hammond reports.