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Hartford HealthCare to reimburse home caregivers for meal charges

Wayne sifts through the human resource paperwork he received from Hartford HealthCare during his tenure working there.
Jacqueline Rabe Thomas
/
CT Public
Wayne sifts through the human resource paperwork he received from Hartford HealthCare during his tenure working there.

This comes just days after Connecticut Public’s Accountability Project reported that some home health aides were paying for meals they never received.

Hartford HealthCare will now reimburse some live-in caregivers for meal credits dating back to 2016. This comes just days after Connecticut Public’s Accountability Project reported that some home health aides were paying for meals they never received.

Independence at Home, which is owned by Hartford HealthCare, will return nearly $480,000 to 114 home caregivers. An investigation by Connecticut Public’s Accountability Project found that some home health aides were being charged $17.50 a day for meals they were never offered.

Hartford HealthCare said it discovered the improper practice through an audit. The Connecticut Department of Labor said it has fined Independence at Home $17,000 for the improper practice.

In a statement to Connecticut Public, as reported on Where We Live, Hartford HealthCare said Independence at Home was not ensuring proper record keeping. The health system then worked with the state Department of Labor to reimburse caregivers for a two-year timeframe. Hartford HealthCare said it will now take it a step further to pay back caregivers for meals dating back to January 2016.

Hartford HealthCare is a funder of Connecticut Public.

Walter Smith Randolph is Connecticut Public’s Investigative Editor. In 2021, Walter launched The Accountability Project, CT Public’s investigative reporting initiative. Since then, the team’s reporting has led to policy changes across the state. Additionally, The Accountability Project’s work has been honored with a National Edward R. Murrow award from RTDNA, two regional Murrow awards, a national Sigma Delta Chi award from the Society of Professional Journalists, three regional EMMY nominations and a dozen CT SPJ awards.
Jacqueline Rabe Thomas was an investigative reporter with Connecticut Public’s Accountability Project from July 2021 until August 2022.

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