Panel, Webinar
The Long-Term Care Crisis: Exploring Innovative Financing and Delivery Strategies
- The average American turning 65 today faces $138,000 in future long-term care costs, with the total cost for 78 million baby boomers potentially unaffordable without managed care improvements.
- Genworth Financial projects that 55 to 60 percent of claim costs will relate to severe dementia, while approximately 25 percent of claims will exceed $250,000, with the remaining quarter potentially ranging from $700,000 to over $1 million.
- Roughly half of the population lacks the personal resources to cover average savings of $110,000 in long-term care expenses, prompting expectations for a public insurance program to cover claims exceeding $250,000.
- The private long-term care insurance market has potentially shrunk from over 100 insurers in 2004 to roughly a dozen, leading to plans to reduce policy costs from over $10,000 annually to between $1,500 and $2,000 through lower coverage amounts and modest inflation protection.
- Home Instead expects to provide 90 million hours of care this year, with about two-thirds of clients having Alzheimer's or dementia, following a temporary client base decrease of 18 to 30 percent in North America and a complete market exit in China for approximately four months during the early pandemic.
- Home Instead anticipates inquiries for new services will rebound to pre-COVID levels in the United States and plans to increase capacity via virtual capabilities to enable caregivers to perform 15 quality assurance visits daily compared to two or four previously.
- Bridge Investment Group manages approximately 11,000 senior housing units within an industry currently operating at 86 or 87 percent occupancy and plans to professionalize facilities while aggregating procurement to benefit residents.
- Bridge Investment Group expects the "silver tsunami" to increase the urgency of managed care as baby boomers reach age 75, with the oldest now at 74 and turning 80 in six years, which is identified as a peak year for long-term care disabilities.
- Bridge Investment Group intends to raise minimum wages for caregivers, deliver 30,000 meals to residents suffering from food insecurity, and provide operating capital grants to about 7,500 workforce and affordable housing residents.
- Telehealth usage by Medicare beneficiaries potentially increased 120-fold between March and April 2020, with trends expected to continue as a solution for more effective care delivery where technology acts as an enabler rather than a replacement for human touch.
- The Milken Institute has identified potential solutions for long-term care funding gaps and plans a second phase of research involving virtual labs to move changes forward.
- State and federal governments are expected to need increased financial support to address racial disparities, and Virginia may partner with community colleges to offer caregiving career certifications.
- Genworth Financial suggests hybrid policies or 401k/IRA savings may be utilized to cover costs, while policies with 5 percent compound inflation protection are considered potentially too costly compared to those with lower inflation protection.
- Congress is expected to need to address the gap for people in peak disability years, and Medicare and Medicaid may require modification to make managed care affordable for those who have worked their whole lives.
- Home Instead views home care as a destination for workers displaced from other industries and expects to offer career paths advancing to administrative, general manager, or franchise ownership roles.
- Tax and fiscal policies are expected to be used to incentivize home ownership and long-term care services, while the risk of serious illness from COVID-19 may increase dramatically with age, particularly for those aged 85 and older.