The Cost Of Long Term Care

The challenge America now faces is the number of people reaching retirement will double in number by 2030, and the U.S. population will increase almost 20 percent ("Our Aging Nation," 2015). The goal is for the elderly to maintain and live with independence and dignity, as well as, provide a wide range of professional health and social service expertise, home care, and residential support and services that will be needed ("Our Aging Nation," 2015). Since the number of caregivers needed for this population will not be able to meet the demands other resolutions are considered necessary.

Current numbers show substantial growth from the eighties, and estimates suggest that the demand for long term care among the elderly will more than double in the next thirty years. (Feder, Komisar, and Niefeld) This growth will exacerbate concerns about balancing institutional and noninstitutional care, assuring quality of care, and most importantly adopting and sustaining financing mechanisms that equitably and adequately protect the elderly who need long-term care.

Taking care of the individuals that are getting older takes many different needs. Most of these needs cannot be given from the help of a family. This causes the need of having to put your love one into a home and causing for the worry of how they will be treated. It is important for the family and also the soon to be client to feel at home in their new environment. This has been an issue with the care being provided for each individual, which has lead to the need of making sure individuals have their own health care plan.

The decision of whether or not to place an aging parent into a long-term care facility, or to try and to keep them in their own home or yours is one that many American families are facing each day. Factors in dealing with this decision are too numerous to count but we will address a few of them in the following paper, like the financial aspects, psychosocial, and meeting the overall needs of our ever aging parents.

Long-Term Care is the retirement crisis that no one is talking about. There is an increasing demand for long-term care services because Americans are living longer with chronic health conditions. For Example, Veterans may live with family or alone and need services that their caregiver can no longer provide or may outlive their primary caregiver. Nursing home placement seems like the only option.

Home care for the elderly is too expensive. While the care is not free, when compared to a nursing home or assisted living community, in home senior care is very affordable. Of course, some of the costs are going to depend on the type of services provided. Does your loved one require partial assistance or 24-hour care? Do they need non-medical support or private-duty nursing? Beyond the financial cost, consider the emotional and social costs of care as well. In home care has been shown to speed the healing process while reducing stress and

The main concern about long-term care is providing the money to pay for individuals and care providers. “As a result, policymakers are considering several proposals for substantial reform. These fall under three categories: Shifting the focus of Medicaid long-term benefits to home care, expanding the long-term care and geriatric workforce, and restructuring the means of finance” (Gleckman, 2009). Federal and state have agreed that many individuals should think about long-term care insurance. In fact, federal and state have discussed providing tax credits and deductions for buying long-term care insurance.

It is still a barrier for those that can afford the insurance and those that cannot.

(Geewax, M. 2012). The fact that many people are living longer today than they ever have in history is increasing the overall cost of caring for family members in this traditional environment, and making it nearly impossible for the United States and American families to keep up with rising cost. According to the current statistics provided by AARP, the average person will spend about 2.44 years in a skilled nursing facility. With these estimates, the cost of providing skilled nursing care for just one parent is at about $190,588.00 dollars. Medicare covers about three percent of this cost in total or approximately $5700.00 dollars split over just first one hundred days. Medicare pays at one hundred percent the first 20 days. Then with Medicaid, the general rule of thumb is all personal holdings such as savings, properties and retirement funds must be expended prior to applying for the program. The one exception to this rule is owning a property the parent can apply for Medicaid with the understanding that their home will be sold and the proceeds of the sale going to the state. Additional cost are offset with social security, most facilities will allot forty dollars a month out a residents social security benefits then apply the remainder to the amount to the monthly bill. The remaining balance would then be the responsibility of the resident, resident’s family or Medicaid

The long-term healthcare system has an infrastructure that is unfriendly and difficulty to navigate. With a growing number of frail older people living in the United States, the pressure to find a more affordable way to care for them will mount. Nearly 12 million people need some form of long-term care (LTC) and half are over age 65 (Wilber, 2014, Class Session 2). As mentioned in the article “Waiting in the Dark with Dad,” a large percentage of American healthcare costs fund medical procedures and medications to keep terminally ill people 65 and older alive (Lopez, 2014, p. 1). Steve Lopez experienced this with his 85-year-old father, Tony, who lived in a nursing home that was a place meant to keep his heart beating, but not actually improve his health and well-being. This is the harsh reality of the long-term care industry that many have faced, including experts in the field such as Dr. Robert Kane, author of It Shouldn’t Be This Way: The Failure of Long-Term Care. Long-term services and supports (LTSS) are supposed to maximize the quality of care and the quality of life for the individual (Kane and West, 2005, p. 169). When that focus is lost, it is the responsibility of healthcare professionals, like myself, to bring that issue back to the forefront of policy making.

Humanity is living longer these days creating the need for long-term care facilities. Today’s families need to work outside the home forcing their loved ones to enter the dependency of the extended care and long-term care facilities. More and more of the retirees are seeking better facilities for themselves because there are more options. There are more than meets the eyes in the nursing and long-term care that involves families and personnel in the decision making for their loved ones.

The risk that a person turning 65 will need nursing home care is very likely. According to Fledstein, he informs to the reader that, as we age, it is likely that Long-Term Care (LTC) is needed (p. 566). Eventually, LTC is needed more after the age of 65. In addition, 19 percent will be in a nursing home for more than five years (p. 568). In a similar case, a patient who does not have family members to take care from, they are in need of LTC. According to June Schroeder, a certified financial planner (CFP) and a Registered Nurse (RN), she shares her story on Aging.com on how she had to spend down on medical bills and assets for her aunt to qualify for Medicaid. In other words, her aunt could not qualify for Medicaid because she had too much

The fact that the American population is aging has raised concerns. In 2011, the number of adults over the age of 65 reached 41.4 million, which account for 13.3% of the population ("A Profile of Older Americans: 2012," 2012). It is estimated that there will be about 71 million older adults by 2030 ("Healthy Aging-Improving and Extending Quality of Life among Older Americans," 2009). Approximately 2.1 million elderly are currently living in

The dignity that comes with all hands on the staff working together, promote residents and families to feel good about the decision to put a loved one in a long term care facility. One is now able to answer what is a long term care facility, how much does it cost and what lifestyle do residents have in a long term care facility. Living in a Long term care facility mean preserving an individual lifestyle and keeping dignity and respect. The cost for these facilities are extended from the level of staff and on what kind of facility the resident is living in. Nursing homes are for more needy residents and require more assistants than an assisted living or home health aide. By moving a loved one into a long term care facility a family and resident

For anyone growing older or anyone with aging parents, long-term care planning should be a priority. Matthew L. Darpel, PSC, is an elder law attorney and financial planning expert serving clients throughout the Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, area. He understands how important it is to have long-term care plans in place and works with clients to achieve this end.