$20 minimum wage may be coming for Nevada’s home care workers

Nevada’s roughly 13,000 home care workers could see big increases to minimum wage and reimbursement rates under legislative proposals presented this week.

Sen. Rochelle Nguyen, joined by other state officials including Sen. Dina Neal and County Commissioner William McCurdy, presented a set of proposals meant to support home care workers during a “legislative town hall” for SEIU Local 1107 members Thursday evening.

The changes, including raising minimum wage for home care workers to $20 an hour from $16 an hour, aim to draw more people to the industry — and keep them there.

“The reality is that we don’t have the workforce to meet the demand,” McCurdy said.

The proposals, which are set to be introduced during the 2025 legislative session, would increase the Medicaid reimbursement rate to $30, increase the number of hours a worker can spend with a client and improve the quality of training required for home care workers, among other proposals.

The proposals would build on moves made in the 2023 legislative session that increased minimum wage for home care workers to around $16 an hour from $11. Lawmakers also increased the Medicaid reimbursement for the workers from $16 to $25 an hour.

That minimum wage increase went into effect on Jan. 1.

Home care workers provide care for housebound patients, including bathing, feeding or dressing them. Workers also assist with housekeeping tasks, including cleaning, laundry and shopping.

Nevada is expected to need 5,300 additional home care workers by 2026, according to a Guinn Center report.