Aveanna Delays California Nurse Wage Hike Over Rate Doubts
Aveanna Healthcare Holdings has paused plans to raise private-duty nurses' base wages in California because of uncertainty over whether a 40% Medicaid reimbursement increase will continue past June 2027, executives said during the company's Q3 earnings call. California's Department of Health Care Services intends to implement roughly $60 million in combined state and federal funding (covering January through June 2027) as a supplemental hourly payment rather than a permanent increase to fee-for-service base rates, CEO Jeff Shaner said. Aveanna is advocating for the funding to continue beyond that period to support sustained wage increases, and plans to be prepared to address retention and engagement payments when the rate increase takes effect January 1, 2027. The company also plans to direct more acquisition capital toward home health and hospice while pursuing smaller private duty deals to enter six additional states.