Before we get started we want to give you a quick update on the interview we had schedule for today’s episode. Unfortunately, when we began the interview we started having some technical difficulties and due to the importance and nature of the interview we collectively decided it would be best to reschedule it.

 

So in place of the interview, we are going to be discussing an issue that has or will affect every family at some point and that is the long-term care crisis in America. First, we will talk a little about what long-term care is and who is in need of it. Then, we will gravitate towards why long-term care is becoming a crisis and what you need to do to prepare for it.

 

Maybe you’re already experiencing some of these issues or you’re looking towards the near future and are unsure what it may hold. Regardless of your current situation we hope that this episode will give you some ideas and suggestions for your long-term care situation. Let’s move on to the rest of the show.

 

As we age, many of us will end up needing long-term care, which is a type of care required if you are unable to perform daily activities on your own. According to Genworth, daily activities means things like eating, bathing, dressing, transferring, and using the bathroom. For many long-term care providers, the goal of long-term care is to allow the recipient, and as often as it is in our case our loved ones, to maintain their lifestyle. As caregivers for our loved ones, we are allowing them to maintain as much freedom as possible and to live out the remainder of their lives as they wish.

 

Being the primary caregiver for our loved ones is usually the most cost-effective option, but it is not the only way long-term care can be provided. Long-term care facilities and professional home care providers are all options when it comes to long-term care for our loved ones. Often times, it comes down to what a family can afford. Medicare and Medicaid and traditional insurances don’t usually cover the cost of long-term care (this is where long-term care insurance is typically used), leaving families to try and cover the costs on their own.

 

Today, seven out of ten older adults will need some sort of long-term care support and 63 percent of family caregivers have to use their own retirement savings to help fund and pay for care.

 

With the aging baby boomer generation, the long-term care crisis will soon reach an all-time high. The COVID-19 pandemic has already seen to it that hospitals and other care facilities reached their full-capacity. America does not currently have the medical infrastructure to support the influx of patients that the pandemic has brought, and it certainly doesn’t have the infrastructure to support the 71.6 million baby boomers that will be needing care in the coming years.

 

Long-term care helps with daily living activities, but it can also include community services such as meals, adult day care, and transportation services. These services may be provided free or for a fee. Preparing for long-term care ahead of time can not only give you peace of mind when the time comes that you need long-term care, but it also ensures that the financial burden will not fall on your loved ones.

 

According to Market Watch, long-term care is extremely expensive, and for many Americans, it is simply unaffordable. Most seniors simply don’t have the average $100,000 a year for a nursing home, $45,000 for assisted living, or $33,000 for in-home care.

 

A report by the Long-Term Care Financing Collaborative found that the out-of-pocket costs of such assistance can be catastrophic, and few people have the necessary resources…to meet this need. Private insurance can cover some of the costs, but it won’t cover everything. Market Watch states that the average premium today is $2,050 a year for a 55-year-old man and $2,700 for a woman of the same age — with premiums rising 25 percent to 100 percent annually. That is, if you can find a policy. Insurers are pulling out of the market in droves as lifespans and health care costs rise — and profit margins fall.

 

Medicaid will cover the costs of skilled nursing care for lower-income seniors, but they don’t help middle- or upper-class seniors and Medicare doesn’t cover any of the costs. Families that leave the workforce to provide care for their loved ones forego approximately $300,000 ($324,000 for women and $284,000 for men) in retirement income. For many families, quitting their own jobs to provide full-time care is the only option. At All Home Care Matters, we fully support families as the primary caregiver, but we want you to be prepared to be a primary caregiver, instead of being thrust into the roll unexpectedly.

 

The cost of long-term care isn’t the only reason for the crisis. There’s also a shortage of room in facilities and a shortage of staff and unfortunately, both of these shortages cause the price of long-term care to increase even more, creating a very costly cycle.

 

Now that we know about the long-term care crisis in America and how costly long-term care can be for the care recipient and their family, let’s take a look at who needs long-term care and what the specific long-term care options are.

 

In GenWorth’s 2018 Beyond Dollars report, they state how seven out of ten people will need long term care at some point, yet six out of ten people are convinced the need for care will never happen to them. In fact, 63 percent of care recipients and 61 percent of caregivers report that, prior to the moment care was needed, they had never considered that the need for long term care at some point was a very real possibility. Among those that had considered the need for care prior to the need revealing itself, less than 25 percent had made any plans to cover this type of situation because they didn’t want to talk about it or admit that care was needed and many also assumed that they had more time.

 

When we do think about a time that we will need long-term care, we often think of it as being when we are in the end-of-life stage, but that isn’t always the case.

 

Hank, a long-term care recipient, never thought he would need long-term care, especially at his age. On Father’s Day, he had a stroke and was unconscious for 48 hours. He thought he was going to die. Luckily, his son found him in time and got him help. After his stroke, Hank’s son stayed with him, helping him with his daily living activities, like bathing, until he got some of his strength back. His son was able to go back to school and continue classes because of a caregiver that was able to come into Hank’s home and help him with daily tasks like laundry and preparing food.

 

Before his stroke, Hank never thought about what if. He hadn’t prepared for the expenses that came with long-term care or for the lack of income and the bills that added up while he was unable to work for several weeks. Hank says he can’t change what happened in the past, but he can change what’s happening now. Nobody knows when something similar is going to happen that is going to require you to get help and Hank wants to make sure his son and others prepare for that moment ahead of time.

 

As we’ve seen with Hank, anyone can be in need of long-term care at any point in their life. Besides age, accidents, illnesses, strokes, and other chronic conditions can all lead you to need long-term care. Cognitive illnesses, such as Alzheimer’s and dementia are one of the leading causes for long-term care, as well. According to GenWorth, 5.8 million Americans currently have Alzheimer’s, and that number continues to grow steadily. In fact, by 2050, this number is projected to increase to almost 14 million. For more information on Alzheimer’s and dementia, you can visit our official YouTube channel for our playlist dedicated to Alzheimer’s and Dementia educational videos.

 

Age, gender, family and housing situation, health, and lifestyle all factor into whether or not you will need long-term care. As you get older, it becomes more likely that you will need long term care. Gender goes hand in hand with age, as women have a greater likelihood of needing long-term care than men because of their likelihood to live longer than men. People who live alone and are without a support system in their area are more likely to need care from a paid caregiver.

 

People living with family or having a support system in the area don’t have a lower risk of needing long-term care, but they most likely will not need full-time care from a paid caregiver, as they have loved ones near that may be able to help provide care in some way. Having any chronic health conditions, like diabetes or high blood pressure, or a family history of chronic health conditions may also increase your risk of needing long-term care. Just like with most things in life, having a poor diet and lack of exercise can increase your risk of needing long-term care.

 

Thinking about and preparing for the what if, as Hank said earlier, can make all the difference when the time actually comes that you need long-term care. Preparing funds ahead of time, whether it be starting a new account to save specifically for long-term care or other health costs or deciding on an amount of retirement money to use can help you and your family budget for a future that may include long-term care.

 

Getting regular check-ups and leading a healthy lifestyle that includes eating healthy foods, staying hydrated, getting enough sleep, and getting an adequate amount of exercise can help you combat the need for long-term care, but it won’t make certain that you won’t need long-term care in the future. We never know what will happen, so it is best to be prepared.

 

When planning for long-term care, having an idea of how you will pay for the associated costs is a good start. You will also need to determine if a family member will provide care for you in your own home, or possibly in theirs. If you choose to go with professional home care services, you will have to determine what sort of care you want to receive from them and they can help you in deciding what type of care may be best suited for your needs.

 

There are a few different options you can choose from for long-term care and many of them will depend on what level of care you will be needing, which you most likely will not know until the time comes. There are three main types of care settings you need to know about when choosing what type of long-term care is best for you, in home care, community care, and facility care.

 

The in-home care option means that a caregiver can help you with daily tasks such as personal care, hygiene, bathroom assistance, and memory care. They can also assist with any domestic needs that you may have as well like laundry, cleaning, cooking, transportation for shopping and appointments. One of the nice features of home care is that the care is customized specifically to the individual and not a one size fits all approach. People with cognitive illnesses can benefit from the home care option due to the close one-on-one interaction they will have with the caregiver and from being in their familiar environment at home.

 

Adult day care is an example of community care. Adult day care provides a safe place for a care receiver to stay while their loved ones are working or away for a few days. It also allows seniors to socialize and participate in activities they find enjoyable. Many families choose this option when they are the primary caregiver and work at the same time or when they want to make sure that their loved one is getting the social interaction they need. However, most adult day cares have criteria that individuals must meet to make sure they are a good fit for their programs.

 

Facility options include assisted living and nursing homes. Assisted livings are recommended for individuals that don’t require twenty-four-hour care and are able to stay on their own for a period of time. Depending on the facility, it could be a few hours at a time, or it could be overnight. Most assisted living facilities also have someone on standby in case of emergencies.

 

Nursing homes are a great option for patients that require full-time care and do not have the support system that is able to provide it at home or they need even more help than their family is able to provide. Often times people with cognitive illnesses will end up needing to live in some type of a facility during their long-term care. There are also specialized facilities for cognitive illnesses or specific memory units within a facility that take care of those patients. Patients in memory units quite often have more bad days than good by the time they end up living in a memory unit.

 

The long-term care crisis in America is only just beginning. With the aging population rising and the cost of health care at an all-time high, we can expect the crisis to worsen. It’s important to plan ahead now, so that when the time comes, and it may come sooner than you think, you will be prepared for it.

 

We want to say thank you for joining us here at All Home Care Matters, All Home Care Matters is here for you and to help families as they navigate long-term care issues. Please visit us at allhomecarematters.com there is a private secure fillable form there where you can give us feedback, show ideas, or if you have questions. Every form is read and responded to. If you know someone is who could benefit from this episode and please make sure to share it with them.

 

Remember, you can listen to the show on any of your favorite podcast streaming platforms and watch the show on our YouTube channel and make sure to hit that subscribe button, so you'll never miss an episode. Join us next time on All Home Care Matters where we will be discussing a topic that can be difficult for families and that is Parenting the Parent.

 

Sources:

 

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/americas-long-term-care-crisis-is-worsening-2019-07-22

 

https://www.genworth.com/aging-and-you/finances/what-is-long-term-care.html

 

https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/what-long-term-care

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20200428233813/https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/04/28/millennials-overtake-baby-boomers-as-americas-largest-generation/

 

https://pro.genworth.com/riiproweb/productinfo/pdf/282301.pdf