---
title: "738 California Caregivers Lose Their Jobs Because One…"
canonical: "https://www.metaintro.com/blog/24-hour-home-care-738-caregivers-health-net-benefit"
language: "en"
author: "drashtigarach"
published: "2026-09-10T06:30:41.000Z"
modified: "2026-09-10T11:28:21.197Z"
---

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# 738 California Caregivers Lose Their Jobs Because One Insurer Dropped One Benefit

24 Hour Home Care is cutting 738 caregiver jobs after Health Net ended a Medi-Cal home care benefit. What the WARN timing means and where the work goes next.

[![Drashti Garach](https://cdn.metaintro.com/rs:fill:40:40/q:72/plain/images/5719d740-e510-42bc-8017-e040d145f35f_1766029465094.png)Drashti Garach @DrashtiGarach](/blog/author/drashtigarach)

[September 10, 2026](/blog/archive/2026/09)10 min read

![A wheeled walking frame beside an armchair in a sunlit living room](https://cdn.metaintro.com/rs:fill:1200:675/q:78/plain/images/10203-alt-hero.png)

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## What happened

[Hoodline](https://hoodline.com/2026/09/el-segundo-caregiving-firm-cuts-738-jobs-after-health-net-drops-key-medi-cal-benefit/) reports that the El Segundo caregiving company 24 Hour Home Care filed a California WARN notice on [31 August 2026 covering 738 employees, with an effective layoff date of 15 September 2026](https://hoodline.com/2026/09/el-segundo-caregiving-firm-cuts-738-jobs-after-health-net-drops-key-medi-cal-benefit/). The company runs [15 regional offices across California, Arizona and Texas and employs roughly 30,000 caregivers statewide](https://hoodline.com/2026/09/el-segundo-caregiving-firm-cuts-738-jobs-after-health-net-drops-key-medi-cal-benefit/).

The cause is unusually clean for a layoff story. [Home Health Care News reported on 4 September](https://homehealthcarenews.com/2026/09/24-hour-home-care-to-lay-off-over-700-employees/) that the company attributed the cuts to Health Net ending [Personal Care and Homemaker Services, an optional Community Support under its Medi-Cal managed care plans, effective 1 January 2027](https://homehealthcarenews.com/2026/09/24-hour-home-care-to-lay-off-over-700-employees/). The company said it was disappointed by the decision and recognised the uncertainty it creates for affected members, caregivers and their families, and that it was working with the insurer and the state through the transition.

So it helps to know what the benefit actually is. The [Health Net provider library](https://providerlibrary.healthnetcalifornia.com/medi-cal/provider-manual/calaim/community-supports.html) describes Personal Care and Homemaker Services as [help with bathing, dressing, toileting, ambulation or feeding, plus meal preparation, grocery shopping and money management](https://providerlibrary.healthnetcalifornia.com/medi-cal/provider-manual/calaim/community-supports.html), for members at risk of hospitalisation or nursing facility placement, members with functional deficits and no other support system, or members approved for In-Home Supportive Services. That is the daily work of keeping somebody in their own home instead of in a facility.

The [California Department of Health Care Services](https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/calaim-transforming-medi-cal/enhanced-care-management-and-community-supports/community-supports-search-tool/) says [all Medi-Cal plans are encouraged to offer as many of the 14 pre-approved Community Supports as possible](https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/calaim-transforming-medi-cal/enhanced-care-management-and-community-supports/community-supports-search-tool/).

Encouraged is the operative word. Because the benefit is optional rather than mandatory, one insurer choosing to stop offering it removes the funding underneath thousands of caregiving hours at once, without any change in how many people need the help.

That is an unusual kind of job loss and it is worth being precise about it. Nobody lost a contract to a competitor, no technology replaced anyone, and demand did not fall. A benefit that existed stopped existing, and the labour attached to it went with it. For the workers involved this is the hardest version to make sense of, because none of the usual explanations apply, and for anyone in publicly funded care it is the risk most worth understanding, since it can arrive without a single warning sign inside your own employer.

## Where the coverage agrees, and where it splits

The numbers are the same everywhere. [Hoodline](https://hoodline.com/2026/09/el-segundo-caregiving-firm-cuts-738-jobs-after-health-net-drops-key-medi-cal-benefit/), [Home Health Care News](https://homehealthcarenews.com/2026/09/24-hour-home-care-to-lay-off-over-700-employees/) and [the New York Post report carried by News Beep](https://www.newsbeep.com/us/840119/) all put the figure at [738 workers with a 15 September effective date](https://www.newsbeep.com/us/840119/), and all name the same cause.

Where they split is scope, and the split matters. [Home Health Care News](https://homehealthcarenews.com/2026/09/24-hour-home-care-to-lay-off-over-700-employees/) went back to the insurer and got confirmation that Health Net is sunsetting [two Community Supports rather than one, both Assisted Living Facility Transitions and Personal Care and Homemaker Services, effective 1 January 2027](https://homehealthcarenews.com/2026/09/24-hour-home-care-to-lay-off-over-700-employees/), while [extending provider contracts for both through 31 December 2026](https://homehealthcarenews.com/2026/09/24-hour-home-care-to-lay-off-over-700-employees/) and citing changing market conditions and discussions with the state. Read only the layoff coverage and this looks like one company's bad quarter. Read the insurer's own confirmation and it is a category of home based care being withdrawn across a plan.

There is also a timing question nobody has answered. The benefit ends on 1 January 2027 and provider contracts run to 31 December 2026, yet the layoffs land on 15 September 2026. That is roughly three and a half months of contracted work ahead of the cuts.

There are innocent explanations for that gap. Members may transfer to other providers before the benefit formally ends, caseloads may already be falling, and an employer may reasonably decide it cannot staff a service it knows is closing. But none of those has been stated publicly, and the difference between the two dates is the single most likely thing to be examined if the notice period is challenged.

[Hoodline](https://hoodline.com/2026/09/el-segundo-caregiving-firm-cuts-738-jobs-after-health-net-drops-key-medi-cal-benefit/) reports the company pledged to keep paying affected workers through [23 October 2026](https://hoodline.com/2026/09/el-segundo-caregiving-firm-cuts-738-jobs-after-health-net-drops-key-medi-cal-benefit/), and that the class action firm Strauss Borrelli announced a WARN Act investigation on 1 September.

The legal floor is not in dispute. The [California Employment Development Department](https://edd.ca.gov/en/jobs_and_training/layoff_services_warn/) requires written notice [at least 60 days before a mass layoff for employers with 75 or more workers cutting 50 or more within 30 days](https://edd.ca.gov/en/jobs_and_training/layoff_services_warn/), and the [U.S. Department of Labor](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/layoffs/employers) sets the same [60 day federal requirement](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/layoffs/employers) and tells employers to notify the state Dislocated Worker Unit as fast as possible. A notice filed on 31 August for a 15 September separation is fifteen days, which is why the investigation exists, and paying through [23 October](https://hoodline.com/2026/09/el-segundo-caregiving-firm-cuts-738-jobs-after-health-net-drops-key-medi-cal-benefit/) is close to the pay a full notice period would have produced.

The most striking disagreement is between the decision and the state's own evidence. [Hoodline](https://hoodline.com/2026/09/el-segundo-caregiving-firm-cuts-738-jobs-after-health-net-drops-key-medi-cal-benefit/) reports a July 2026 state evaluation finding the benefit produced a [58.4 percent net cost reduction by lowering emergency room visits and hospital admissions](https://hoodline.com/2026/09/el-segundo-caregiving-firm-cuts-738-jobs-after-health-net-drops-key-medi-cal-benefit/). A service that pays for itself twice over is still being withdrawn, which tells you the calculation being made is not a simple one about value.

It is also a reminder that cost effectiveness and cost are measured in different places. A service that reduces emergency admissions saves money across a whole health system, while the cost of providing it sits on one plan's budget line. Where those two sit with different people, a service can be genuinely good value and still be unaffordable to the specific body paying for it, which is how a benefit with strong evidence behind it ends up being withdrawn anyway.

## What this means for your job search

The first thing to know is that your skills are not the problem here, and it is worth saying plainly because a layoff this abrupt makes people doubt themselves. The work you were doing was found by the state to cut net costs by more than half. Nothing about your performance caused this. A payer changed one line in a benefit menu.

The second thing is a matter of days rather than weeks. Contact your local Rapid Response team now rather than after your final day, because the programme is built to reach people before separation, and California's [WARN rules changed for 2026 so that notices must name the workforce board or organisation supporting affected workers and describe the services available](https://edd.ca.gov/en/jobs_and_training/layoff_services_warn/). Read your own notice for that name. It is a direct line into help, and most people never look.

Where the work goes is the more useful question. Care needs do not disappear when a payer stops funding them, they move. Members approved for [In-Home Supportive Services](https://providerlibrary.healthnetcalifornia.com/medi-cal/provider-manual/calaim/community-supports.html) qualify for this benefit already, which means the county programme is the natural landing place for a large share of this caseload and for the people who serve it. The remaining [Community Supports on the state menu](https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/calaim-transforming-medi-cal/enhanced-care-management-and-community-supports/community-supports-search-tool/), and the plans that still offer them, are the other half of the map.

Worth checking directly rather than assuming, too. Which supports a plan offers varies by county, and the plan that dropped this benefit in one place may not be the plan serving the family down the road. The state search tool exists precisely so that members and providers can check by county, and an afternoon spent on it will tell you more about where the work is going than any amount of speculation.

One more thing that applies to caregivers specifically. Much of what you do is judged by families rather than recorded by employers, which means your best evidence often walks out of the building with you and is never written down. Ask the coordinators and the families you have worked with for something in writing while you are still in post, because a reference from somebody who watched you work is worth more in this field than any certificate, and it becomes much harder to obtain once the agency relationship has ended.

Widen the search past home care too. California healthcare is shedding jobs in several places at once, and [News Beep reports Stanford Health Care filing to cut 95 roles in late August and John Muir Health announcing 75 on 1 September](https://www.newsbeep.com/us/840119/), so the local market is competitive right now. That argues for pushing into adjacent settings rather than applying to the same agencies as everyone else. [Personal care assistant work](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/how-to-become-a-personal-care-assistant) travels into hospital, hospice and facility settings with very little retraining, [certified nursing assistant pay](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/how-much-does-a-certified-nursing-assistant-make) shows what a short credential is worth on top of the experience you already have, and [human services roles](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/human-services-field-careers) hire the same judgement for case management and community work.

My honest argument is that this is the moment to add one credential rather than to simply find the next agency. You already have the hard part, which is years of doing intimate, difficult work well. What you may not have is the piece of paper that lets an employer pay you more for it, and [choosing a training programme that actually raises your pay](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/skills-training) is a better use of the next month than a hundred identical applications.

## Related Articles

- [How to Become a Personal Care Assistant and Start Working in Home Care](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/how-to-become-a-personal-care-assistant)
- [How Much Does a Certified Nursing Assistant Make in 2026](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/how-much-does-a-certified-nursing-assistant-make)
- [Human Services Field Careers, the Job Titles, Salaries and Credentials](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/human-services-field-careers)
- [Healthcare Practitioner Careers, Roles, Pay and Entry Paths](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/healthcare-practitioner-careers)
- [How to Find High Paying Medical Careers and Position Yourself for Them](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/high-paying-medical-careers)
- [Skills Training Programs and How to Choose One That Raises Your Pay](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/skills-training)
- [How to Job Search With AI After a Layoff](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/job-search-with-ai-after-a-layoff)
- [Getting Laid Off Permanently Changes How You Think About Work](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/getting-laid-off-changes-how-you-think-about-work)
- [How to Successfully Transition From Part-Time to Full-Time Work](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/transition-from-part-time-job-to-full-time-career)

## People Also Asked

### Q: Why is 24 Hour Home Care laying off 738 workers?

A: [Home Health Care News](https://homehealthcarenews.com/2026/09/24-hour-home-care-to-lay-off-over-700-employees/) reports the company attributed the cuts to Health Net discontinuing Personal Care and Homemaker Services, an optional Community Support under its Medi-Cal managed care plans, effective 1 January 2027. [Hoodline](https://hoodline.com/2026/09/el-segundo-caregiving-firm-cuts-738-jobs-after-health-net-drops-key-medi-cal-benefit/) reports the WARN notice was filed on 31 August 2026 with an effective date of 15 September 2026.

### Q: What is Personal Care and Homemaker Services?

A: The [Health Net provider library](https://providerlibrary.healthnetcalifornia.com/medi-cal/provider-manual/calaim/community-supports.html) describes it as help with bathing, dressing, toileting, ambulation or feeding, along with meal preparation, grocery shopping and money management, for members at risk of hospitalisation or nursing facility placement. It is one of the [14 pre-approved Community Supports](https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/calaim-transforming-medi-cal/enhanced-care-management-and-community-supports/community-supports-search-tool/) the state encourages Medi-Cal plans to offer, and offering it is optional rather than required.

### Q: Did the workers get enough notice under the WARN Act?

A: That is being investigated. The [California Employment Development Department](https://edd.ca.gov/en/jobs_and_training/layoff_services_warn/) requires 60 days written notice for employers with 75 or more workers cutting 50 or more in a 30 day period, and the [U.S. Department of Labor](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/layoffs/employers) sets the same federal standard. [Hoodline](https://hoodline.com/2026/09/el-segundo-caregiving-firm-cuts-738-jobs-after-health-net-drops-key-medi-cal-benefit/) reports the company pledged to keep paying affected workers through 23 October 2026.

Looking for your next opportunity? Care experience is in demand across hospitals, hospices, facilities and county programmes, and the people who move first reach hiring managers before the rest of this cohort does. [Metaintro](https://www.metaintro.com) matches caregiving, nursing support and health operations talent to employers hiring across California right now. [Create a free profile](https://www.metaintro.com/signup) and start your next move today.

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