Health Insurance Boosts Retention in Washington State

Providing health insurance makes consumer-directed home care workers more likely to stay, both on the job and in the field as a whole, according to a study from Washington state.

Evaluation of Interventions to Improve Recruitment and Retention (pdf) reports on a survey to evaluate a series of initiatives instituted by the Home Care Quality Authority (HCQA). The changes were aimed at improving recruitment and retention of the so-called individual providers (IPs) who participate in the state's consumer-directed home care program, many of whom are related to the people they care for.

The most expensive initiative - and the one the researchers expected would have the greatest effect - was subsidized health insurance. To qualify for the insurance, IPs had to have been working for the program at least 86 hours a month for at least three months. In general, though some exceptions were made, they also had to be ineligible for health insurance from any other source.

Researchers at Washington State University surveyed IPs and the consumers who employed them about their experiences from 2004, when the program began, to 2006. Among their findings:

* Average monthly turnover declined a statistically significant amount (from 1.53 percent to 1.27 percent);