Long Term Care Planning News

In addition to keeping on top of developments in long term care insurance, an insurance agent must keep abreast of care options. After all, most people who engage in long term care planning have at least some kind of care in mind when they consider long term care insurance. Sometimes it’s a place they know and have decided it’s where they’d like to receive care. Or it can be knowledge as simple as the place or type of situation that they absolutely know they want to avoid!

It’s almost certain that any time we take the pulse of long term care options in the US we can find change. That’s certainly true now. In this month’s article I ask you to consider four current and relevant topics I’ve read in the news:

Nursing Home Closures

Nursing homes have been affected by the pandemic in a variety of ways. The financial stress has caused many to close or to merge. If you are relying on your “favorite nursing home” for a worst-case safety net, that care choice may no longer be available when the time comes. In 2020, 143 nursing homes shut their doors or merged with others, according to the American Health Care Association, which also reported that occupancy is at an all-time low. Even more shocking, the Association projected 1,670 further closures in 2021 (Skilled Nursing News, 2/10/21).

Preference for Home-Based Care

As long term care facilities bore the brunt of many Covid-19 deaths, many families reacted with a preference for home-based care. This alternative is much less likely to be covered by public funding options than a nursing home—making the ability to privately pay imperative, especially if a family member is not willing or able to provide care on an unpaid basis.

Long Term Care Worker Unrest

Long term care has long been one of the nation’s lowest-paying industries. As essential workers, caregivers have been called on to continue working throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. We’ve seen worker demonstrations and protests demanding higher wages, benefits, and working conditions across the country. An increase in caregiver wages could have ramifications on the cost of long term care for government programs, taxpayers, and private-paying citizens. Some speculate a likely outcome is more reliance on automated solutions.

Long Term Care as Infrastructure

Proposed national legislation includes long term care reform in the infrastructure bill put forward by the White House in late March. As proposed, the bill would provide $400 billion toward, “expanding access to quality, affordable home or community-based care for aging relatives and people with disabilities.” Details are scarce, but experts say the money would be spent to expand options under existing means-tested programs (such as Medicaid).

Experience tells me this: proposed legislation comes and goes (on both a state and federal basis). Here’s what’s certain— the ability to privately pay for your own care gives you more certainty than relying on a government program.

Summary

The more the landscape for care changes, the more obvious some core principles remain unchanged:

• Long term care remains a national challenge.  

• Variables such as an overriding desire to remain close to family or friends may greatly limit attractive care options.

• The ability to privately pay for care—using either personal cash or long term care insurance—can make a world of difference in care options when care is needed. Long term care insurance remains the smartest way for most people to privately pay for extended care.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to discuss any aspect of long term care planning or long term care insurance you might need more information about. Baygroup Insurance can be contacted at http://www.baygroupinsurance.com/forms/contact-us or call us at 410-557-7907 for more information.