‘Right-sizing’ senior care mean recognizing value of assisted living
LOS ANGELES: Right-sizing seniors care now means having to recognize the value of assisted living says the C.E.O. of a provider group.
With 11,200 Americans turning 65 each day and the population of adults aged 85 or more years expected to increase to almost 23% of the population by 2050, assisted living is a cost-effective option for older adults to receive improved quality of life, Argentum said Wednesday.
During its Public Policy Institute in Washington, DC, the trade association promoted the value of the sector to its members to share with lawmakers and their staffs and suggested solutions to increase access and affordability to the setting, as well as address workforce needs. The event happened the same day as Argentum President and CEO James Balda testified at a hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Aging titled “Breaking the Cycle of Senior Loneliness: Strengthening Family and Community Support.”
The nation’s population is rapidly aging and the country is unprepared to meet increasing care needs, according to statistics from Argentum’s updated “Value of Assisted Living for America” white paper, released Wednesday. Seventy percent of Americans will need some form of long-term care in their lifetime, 50% will need assisted living or skilled nursing, and 20% will need that level of care and services for at least five years, according to the report, citing federal data.
The paper suggests several legislative and regulatory approaches that policymakers can implement to make assisted living available to more Americans, reduce costs, make it easier for more people to save for retirement, and address “historic” workforce shortages facing the entire long-term care industry.
“We have solutions to help seniors get the long-term care they need by allowing better access to our communities,” Maggie Elehwany, Argentum’s senior vice president of public affairs, said during the event, titled “Right-sizing senior care saves federal dollars.”
The recommendations shared in the paper:
Improve access to assisted living for veterans, including by expanding a pilot program to open access to certain veterans to assisted living to include every veteran.
Increase access and affordability by establishing through legislation a cost-reduction program to help low-income older adults access care.
Expand workforce training programs. The report noted that, based on industry estimates, by 2040, more than 20 million workers will be needed across the long-term care continuum. Agentum previously has said that the senior living industry will need 3 million of those workers. Existing workforce training programs could offer specializations in senior care, the association said.
Promote socialization and support caregiver needs. The proposed Social Engagement and Network Initiatives for Older Relief Act, or SENIOR Act, and the Care Across Generations Act, would address loneliness in older adults and establish on-site childcare centers within senior living communities, Argentum said.
Promote tax reforms to invest in workforce development, including the Improve and Enhance the Work Opportunity Tax Credit Act, to help operators hire more caregivers.
Support foreign-born workforce programs to help ensure an adequate long-term care workforce.
Strengthen long-term care insurance.
Increase public program reimbursements to increase the participation of assisted living communities.
Assisted living is a cost-effective option for older adults to receive improved quality of life, according to the white paper, which noted that the average cost for assisted living is $64,200. That amount compares with $116,800 for a private room in a nursing home and $104,025 for a semi-private room. The average cost of a home health aide is $75,504 but can reach as high as $288,000 for around-the-clock coverage, Argentum noted.
Additionally, the association said, research supports that senior living communities save Medicaid an estimated $43 billion in additional expenditures annually.
“The bottom line is that assisted living offers significantly lower costs, improved quality of life, better health outcomes, and reduced healthcare costs for public programs like Medicare, Medicaid and veterans care,” the report reads. “As policymakers seek to respond to the nation’s long-term care challenges, they should enact policies that help Americans choose the right level of care for their needs, promote cost-effective policies and programs, and support the workforce, investment and development needs to care for our rapidly aging population.”