RICHMOND, Va. – Home health care workers in Virginia could be getting $1,500 in hazard pay, thanks to federal funding.
Gov. Ralph Northam announced that $73 million in federal Coronavirus Aid, Recovery, and Economic Security (CARES) Act would be used to provide hazard pay for home health care workers who served high-risk populations in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Around 43,500 home health care workers who served Medicaid members between March 12 and June 30 could get the one-time, pre-tax payment.
“Home health care workers are often unseen, unsung, and underpaid, but they do the vital work of caring for vulnerable Virginians,” said Northam. "Their jobs put them at higher risk during this pandemic, and this hazard payment is a way we can acknowledge that they put themselves in harm’s way to help others.
In addition to the hazard pay, the state budget passed on July 1 included a 7% increase over two years for home health workers. According to a statement from the governor’s office, the Department of Medical Assistance Services is also working to provide those workers with personal protective equipment.