This afternoon, the state Supreme Court will hear a case brought forth by Bayada Nurses, one of the state’s largest for-profit home care agencies.  The crux of the case?  Apparently, Bayada is seeking to exempt home care agencies like themselves from their obligations to pay the state-mandated minimum wage, as well as some overtime and travel costs for its employees. 

Clearly, this is an attempt to use the courts for a radical re-branding of a service industry, and for Bayada, and this is an incredibly risky strategy.  Bayada is one of the few true “brands” in home health care with all of its nurses and aides required to wear red hats and identifying jackets or coats.  If their action brings notoriety as “the company that underpays its personal care staff,” it could badly damage its brand.

Pennsylvania’s current system of home health care delivery is already fractured and under constant stress from an ever-growing population, as well as stagnant Medicaid reimbursement levels.  Turnover rates for home care workers are some of the highest of any industry in the state.  Most home care workers do not have health insurance.

This court decision will have wide-ranging consequences for the future of home care in Pennsylvania at a time when elected officials struggle to re-balance the long-term care system away from costly institutional care and towards quality in-home care.  

If there is a worse way to recruit and retain a quality home care work force than to file this particular lawsuit, we are still looking for it.  And for Bayada, the long term pain looks to far outweigh any short term gain.