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The Connecticut General Assembly has approved a new three year contract for 12,000 hardworking and dedicated Personal Care Attendants (PCAs) in the state. PCAs do emotionally and physically demanding work: they provide daily care and assistance to our elderly and disabled – helping them perform daily life activities that you and I take for granted, such as walking, eating, bathing and other tasks. For this, PCAs most currently make $18.25 an hour, with no benefits.
The new contract increases that minimum wage to $23 an hour over the next three years, provides a stipend to help PCAs purchase health insurance on our state insurance exchange, and expands training opportunities so PCAs can expand and improve their skills. More than half of these additional benefits and costs will be paid for by Medicaid. Giving our PCAs this historic wage increase gives more workers increased stability and a stable PCA workforce enables more people who need help to live and function at home, with PCA assistance, rather than needing costly care in institutionalized settings.
Governor Ned Lamont praised our efforts after we approved the agreement.
We expect the contract to be approved soon by Medicaid, and once that happens, it will go into effect.
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