A bill has been proposed to increase minimum wage in CT to $15 an hour, so what will that mean for senior care?

SHELTON, CONNECTICUT, UNITED STATES, February 20, 2019 /EINPresswire.com/ -- ++

Democratic legislators in Connecticut will soon be proposing a bill to increase the minimum wage from $10.10 an hour to $15. Though it can’t currently be determined when this ruling will become fully effective, it could lead to many complications for business owners in Connecticut.

The pay increase will, in turn, lead many, if not all, business owners to have to increase what they charge for goods and services, resulting in an increase in costs for consumers. The increase in minimum wage is a new de facto tax on Connecticut residents. Connecticut is already one of the highest tax states in the country, and the minimum wage increase, through an increase in the cost of goods and services, will squeeze the middle class further.

Mark McGoldrick, the owner of multiple Comfort Keepers locations in CT, is fearful of the impact this bill could have on seniors specifically. “The cost of in-home senior care services will increase dramatically as a result of the new wage increase,” he said. “To keep up with employee pay, we will have to increase rates for our clients.”

Recent surveys show that more than 80% of seniors want to age in place in their homes. When the $15 minimum wage becomes effective, in-home senior care companies will have to increase the cost of services by nearly 50%. An elderly person who currently spends $1,000/month on Home Care will soon pay $1,500 for those same services. For many seniors, this rate increase will not be manageable.

In-home care services are not optional for many of the elderly, as they require assistance with the activities of daily living. They pay for these services out of their lives’ savings. This level of inflation is exorbitant, especially to a population of individuals who live on fixed incomes. The result of this increase will be to bankrupt seniors sooner and place them on Medicaid at an accelerated rate. This will further increase budget deficits in Connecticut and lead to additional tax hikes to Connecticut residents.

Company owners, such as McGoldrick, hope the timeline on the minimum wage increase is spread over an extended time period, which would give companies and consumers time to adjust to the changes. Business owners urge the public to take action and push for a longer adoption period for the increase.

“I am calling on the community to come together and take action by picking up the phone, writing a letter, or meeting with their legislators in person to express concerns for the minimum wage increase,” McGoldrick said. “Though this won’t reverse the bills’ passing, it could help spread this increase over a reasonable time period, to minimize the impact on seniors during the adoption period. The elderly are largely a population without a voice. We need to be their voice with the Connecticut legislature.”

About Comfort Keepers Shelton, CT:
Providing best-in-class home health care for seniors and the elderly is a true passion of ours, and is a reputation we strive to maintain on a daily basis. Our experienced Comfort Keepers CT senior home care team is dedicated to building real relationships because you deserve high-quality care from people that care about you. Whether you are interested in assisted living, we have the ability to customize our services to match your exact needs.

Our Comfort Keepers CT senior home care mission is to provide our clients with the highest level of quality of life that is achievable. We shall treat each of our clients with the respect and dignity they deserve, as though we were caring for a member of our own family.

The special caregivers who deliver our unique brand of senior home care (We call them Comfort Keepers®.) are carefully selected, screened, and trained to provide professional, compassionate care.

This release was drafted by Results Driven Marketing, LLC: a full-service digital marketing, public relations, advertising and content marketing firm located in Philadelphia, PA.

Mark McGoldrick
Comfort Keepers Shelton, CT
+1 203-409-8322
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