Thomas Greenwell wakes up each morning and gets ready twice — he goes through the motions of brushing teeth twice, doing hair twice and getting dressed twice — once for himself and once for his client, Edgar.
Greenwell is a community attendant in Pearland, south of Houston, who described his work as a full-time, hands-on effort. “Every single daily task someone would do for themselves, I do for myself and then I also do with Edgar,” Greenwell said.
But Greenwell doesn’t know how much longer he will be able to afford to take care of Edgar as a community-based care provider under Medicaid. He makes $10.60/hour, a wage set by the Legislature in 2023.