Aveanna Freezes California Nurse Base Wage Hike Amid Rate Uncertainty

Aveanna Healthcare provides pediatric and adult home health, private duty nursing and medical solutions services in 39 states. To help expand its home health and hospice businesses, Aveanna currently has a robust M&A pipeline.

Leadership said the company will pursue acquisitions that fit its culture and deliver significant value for the company and shareholders, said Matt Buckhalter, the company’s chief financial officer and principal financial officer.

Aveanna plans to build out its presence in the Southeast, Southwest and middle America as well, according to CEO Jeff Shaner. The company aims to grow its home health arm in order to be more relevant to payers and increase density.

Aveanna’s home health and hospice segment brought in $72.15 million in revenue in Q3, up 15.6% year over year. The company’s overall third-quarter revenue came in at $695.5 million, increasing 11.8% from Q3 2025.

• California’s investment in private duty nursing includes approximately $30 million in state funding and an expected federal match of the same amount, for a total of $60 million covering January through June 2027.
• However, California’s Department of Health Care Services intends to implement the funding as a supplemental hourly payment rather than a permanent increase to fee-for-service base reimbursement rates.

Aveanna is advocating for the funding to continue beyond that six-month period so it can support sustained wage increases. “We understand how they get there,” said Shaner. “We just vehemently disagree with their position.”

Buckhalter noted that the company will be prepared on Jan. 1, 2027, when the rate increase goes into effect, to address retention and engagement payments for the company’s caregivers, including onboarding, new hiring or volume.

Aveanna will continue advocating for a permanent reimbursement increase to support higher caregiver wages, citing its importance to patients and their families, Buckhalter said. “The only way to fix the hiring trends and the growth trends in California is to fix the wage rate long-term,” said Shaner. “Growing in each state is really tied to [the] reimbursement rate and wage.”