Home Health Pays Highest for PT, OT, Compensation Report Finds

McKnight’s Home Care | By Am Healy
 
Working for home health agencies is more lucrative for physical therapists and occupational therapists than other long-term care employers, according to data from the Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service (HCS) Rehabilitation Salary & Benefits Report for 2023.
 
From July 2022 to June 2023, home health agencies paid the highest rates for PT services, at $48.67 per hour, on average. Hospital and long-term care (LTC) settings paid $46.68 and $45.89 per hour, respectively. However, pay rate increases were the slowest in home health settings, increasing by only 3.2% while rates grew at 3.5% in hospitals and 3.7% in LTC.
 
For occupational therapists, home health agencies paid $45.94 per hour, while hospitals paid $44.08 and LTC paid $42.75 per hour, on average. 
 
Rates varied by state. Home-based physical therapy received the highest hourly rates in New York, at $58.50 per hour, whereas Minnesota saw the lowest rates at $42 per hour.
 
Home health agencies also offered other benefits to physical therapists and occupational therapists. More than 93% of those surveyed offered paid time off, and on average, PT and OT workers earned about two weeks of PTO upon receiving employment. The vast majority offered time-and-a-half or double-time pay for holidays worked.
 
More than 90% of these agencies also offered continuing education and tuition assistance opportunities to PT and OT workers, even for those paid hourly. Almost 100% offered retirement plans, and 85% matched employees’ contributions. All of the home health agencies surveyed offered health insurance to employees, and most extended coverage to dependents. Vision and dental insurance were also offered by all of those surveyed.
 
To gather this data, HCS analyzed a total of 2,600 care providers, including LTC facilities, hospitals and home health agencies. Two years ago, pay growth for PT services in home health settings lagged behind hospitals and LTC. The same HCS report from 2021 found that home health agencies may use higher wages as a tool to offset challenges brought about by staffing shortages felt across the entire healthcare industry.