Clients Face a Caregiving Crisis: LTCI Insider

The caregiving crisis is a major issue for our clients, and it was a major focus at the Intercompany Long Term Care Insurance Conference in Denver.

The problem is twofold: The clients have an increasing need for caregivers, and home health care agencies and facilities have difficulty with hiring professional caregivers.

Frequently, insureds who are eligible for long-term care insurance benefits can’t even find caregivers, particularly in rural areas.

The Numbers

Speakers at one session provided these statistics, based on data from the Family Caregiver Alliance:

• In 2020, 41.8 million Americans provided unpaid care for an adult age 50 or older. Nearly 17% of U.S. adults were caregivers.
• About 15.7 million caregivers provide care for someone with dementia.
• 78% of the time, it’s the spouse or oldest daughter providing the care.
• The average duration of a caregiver’s role is four years.
• 24% of caregivers provide care for more than five years.
• The value of services provided by informal caregivers has an economic value of more than $470 million.
• Projections show that, by 2030, more than 72 million Americans will be 65 or older.

Possible Solutions

Maureen Lillis, chief clinical transformation officer at Independent Living Systems, presented ideas about strategies for solving the long-term care aide shortage.

Here are some of her suggestions:

• Change immigration laws, to help caregivers enter the country. Traditionally, many caregivers have been immigrants.
• Encourage retirees who still want to work to become caregivers.
• Improve caregiving education and training to increase confidence.
• Increase caregiver compensation. The average wage for caregivers is only $14 an hour. That compares with an average hourly wage of $19 for Amazon employees.
• Reform the Medicaid system, to increase the reimbursement rate for caregivers.
• Use robotic caregivers and other new technology to bridge the gap.
• Encourage high school students to become certified nursing assistants and home health aides.
• Train individuals who have been displaced from other industries.
• Change the status of caregivers from temporary employees to W-2 employees. Then, if they are not scheduled for caregiving, train them to do office work, so they will have full-time employment.

LTC Wellness

Conference speakers also talked about wellness programs.

Companies in the long-term care insurance industry hope the programs will support family caregivers and other informal caregivers, reduce informal caregiver burnout, keep people at home as long as possible, and reduce claims. The strategies offered include family caregiver support and advice services, fall prevention programs, and efforts to outfit clients with durable medical equipment, such as canes, walkers and grab bars.

Margie Barrie, an agent with ACSIA Partners, has been writing the LTCI Insider column since 2000. She is the author of two books and a frequent conference speaker.

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(Image: Syda Productions/Shutterstock)