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Caregiver Scheduling

The rate increase letter, written for you.

Minimum wages rise again on January 1, 2027, and every private-pay client needs a letter. Pick your state, enter the numbers, choose a tone, and copy the letter, the email version and the text reminder. The notice rule for your state is answered under the numbers.

Last reviewed November 5, 2026

Letter details

Reason
Tone
Texas: check your state rules and your service agreementYour service agreement controls. Thirty days’ written notice is the industry standard and what most agreements promise; for January 1, 2027 that means mailing by Dec 2. A 6.3% increase with less notice than the agreement states is a breach a family can refuse.Confirm the notice rule with your state licensing agency and check what your service agreement promises.

Your letter

[Agency name]



Dear [Client or family name],

Thank you for trusting [Agency name] with your care. It is a responsibility we take personally, and we want to be straightforward with you about a change ahead.

Beginning January 1, 2027, our hourly rate for your services will change from $32.00 to $34.00 per hour. We are making this change because the minimum wage for caregivers in Texas rises on January 1. Every dollar of this increase goes toward caregiver wages and the training behind them; the caregivers you know are getting a raise on the same day.

Nothing else changes: your caregivers, your schedule and your plan of care stay exactly as they are. Your first invoice at the new rate will cover services on or after January 1, 2027.

If this change creates difficulty, please call me directly at [phone]. We would rather talk through options with you than have you worry about it.

With gratitude,

[Name, title]
[Agency name]
Email
Agency details stay in this browser. Never type client names.

January 1, 2027

Wage floors that force a rate letter this year.

New York
Home care aide minimum $20.00 in NYC, Long Island and Westchester; $19.00 upstate.
Connecticut
$17.48 statewide, indexed.
Maine
MaineCare-funded direct care at 125% of the state minimum wage.
California
Statewide CPI adjustment; many cities set higher local rates.
20+ other states
Scheduled or indexed increases on January 1; mid-year steps in Florida (September 30) and Oregon, DC, Nevada (July 1).

The full list, updated monthly, is on the rates and rules tracker. Source: U.S. DOL state minimum wage table and state labor department announcements.

How to raise rates without losing clients

Five things the agencies that keep everyone do.

  1. Give more notice than required. 30 days is the floor in most service agreements; 45 to 60 lets families budget and ask questions.
  2. Name the reason once, plainly. "Caregiver wages in our state rise on January 1" is enough. Do not apologize three times.
  3. Say what stays the same. Same caregivers, same schedule, same care plan. That is what families are afraid of losing.
  4. Call the fragile accounts first. Fixed-income clients and anyone near the end of their long-term care benefit hear it from you, not from an envelope.
  5. Raise caregiver pay the same day. If the letter says wages are going up, make sure they are. Caregivers read the letters too.

Background: How to raise home care rates (and the letter) · What the service agreement should say about rate changes .

How Caregiver Scheduling handles this

Coming soon: Caregiver Scheduling will keep each client’s rate on their record and build private-pay invoices from approved visits at that rate. See timesheets and invoicing (coming soon).

Sources

Related guides

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