NYT Examines 'Gray Market' For In-Home Long-Term Care Aides

Many middle-class families facing the "crushing burden of indefinite home-care expenses" have begun to hire in-home long-term care aides through the "gray market," an "over-the-back-fence network of women," although the practice "is fraught with risks," the New York Times reports. According to the Times, aides hired through the gray market are "usually untrained, unscreened and unsupervised," but they are more affordable than bonded, insured and certified aides hired through agencies. Aides hired through the gray market might cost about $12 per hour, compared with about $20 per hour for those hired through agencies.

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