Long Term Care Cost Lessons for Policy Makers

Long-term care costs are a significant burden for families, often leading to financial hardship

Broadcast Retirement Network's Jeffrey Snyder discusses Long Term Care costs with CareScout's Lynn White.

Jeffrey H. Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

This morning on BRN, long-term care cost lessons for policy makers. And we're gonna welcome back to the program, Lynn White, she's the CEO and president of CareScout Insurance. Lynn, welcome back to the program.

Great to see you this morning.

Lynn White, Carescout

Thank you for having me, it's wonderful.

Jeffrey H. Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

Yeah, it's great to talk about this. And I think anytime you can bring awareness to such an important topic. I think a lot of Americans, they're caregivers, maybe they have a loved one who may need some help.

They wanna get information. And I think obviously, carescout.com, certainly a great place to go. Let's talk a little, I wanna shift the conversation because this survey that we were talking about yesterday, so robust, launched in 2004, 140, 150,000 respondents or organizations that participated.

Are there some lessons here for our policy makers in Washington DC and around the country?

Lynn White, Carescout

There certainly are. And let me start Jeff by clarifying that while we reached out to 140,000 people, the responses came in covering about 15,000 of the facilities. So I wanted to be clear about that.

But there is a tremendous fodder for discussion in Washington DC and in states about long-term care. I mean, the demographics are shifting. There are 70 million people who are over the age of 65.

And of that 70 million, an estimated 70% will lead some type of long-term care service. And we know that every day from now through 2030, approximately 10,000 baby boomers will turn 80, every day. So those shifting dynamics certainly suggest that there is a need to pay attention in this space.

Now, we spoke yesterday about why costs are rising. We've got inflation and labor costs that are really driving up long-term care costs. And when you couple that with the increase in demand from the baby boomers as they age, finding quality care and paying for it can be a challenge.

And we know that there are some government programs now that pay for long-term care, but they don't pay for many of the services to the extent that people will need them. And I think it's important that policymakers and Americans understand what those limitations are. So the need to really have some solutions in this space is critically important.

And now is the time.

Jeffrey H. Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

Yeah, you wanna plan before you actually get there rather than, we don't wanna kick the can down the road knowing that there's gonna be 10,000 baby boomers retiring each year. But let me ask you about, the states are the laboratories of democracy, it's often said. There's a lot of interesting initiatives going on and I'll just bring up one.

Washington State, I think, has taken on this issue. And there are 50 states, but there are 50 departments of aging in each of these states. I just bring up Washington because I think that's an interesting example where they're actually looking at some type of caregiving or some type of pulled solution.

I wanna get your reaction to that. And maybe some of the other interesting initiatives going on around the country.

Lynn White, Carescout

Certainly. In fact, Washington State has implemented a public program that would afford $36,500 increasing with inflation to individuals to cover long-term care services. And there are several interesting discussions going on with that state about supplemental coverage that can be provided beyond the 36,500.

That is really critical because 36,500 is a great start, but that doesn't often cover the cost of a long-term care event. Several states have followed. There have been initiatives and at least discussions in California, in New York, in Massachusetts, in Minnesota.

Many other states are looking at how they can really enact some programming to help with those expenses. But on a federal level, there is activity underway as well. Congressman Tom Suozzi from New York has introduced the WISH Act to enable there to be some form of payment for individuals as they need to address their care needs.

And I know that Genworth and CareScout are actively involved with the congressman who is looking to get some widespread adoption of some of the things considered in that bill. So we are very excited to participate in that. And we definitely commend the bill to consideration of others.

Jeffrey H. Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

Yeah, I mean, it's certainly, I mean, this is just an issue that it's, we're all aging and we've got a demographic shift. It has to be dealt with. I mean, could you, and I think you alluded to this.

I mean, you mentioned Representative Suozzi and the bill that he put forth. I'm sure he's gonna get, has co-sponsors, but is this a public-private type of solution where you need the government because the government can muster resources and have policy, but you need the support of the long-term care provider community, the long-term care insurance community. I would imagine it's public-private working together as it does in so many other industries.

Lynn White, Carescout

So Jeff, neither entity can do this alone. The problem is just too big. So it has to be a public-private solution that would involve the private market coupled with a government backdrop.

Backdrop. We usually, I should say backstop. Let me get it right.

Because what we- Backstop, backdrop.

Jeffrey H. Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

Yeah, that's right. Backdrop, backstop.

Lynn White, Carescout

Yeah, because I'm so excited about this. I'm mixing up my words here, but I wanna be very, very clear about this that certainly the private market has a role to play. But when it comes to those catastrophic costs, having a government backstop is important.

And I think that we're looking to figure out exactly how to work this. I know that Washington Cares provides some coverage on the front end. And there could be some federal program that works to provide some coverage on the back end with the private market kind of nestled there in the middle.

And we just have to figure out the continuum of care to ensure that people have access and also that they have resources to enable them to get the care that they need in a manner that really honors their humanity. That's something that's very important. And I know that CareScout and GenWork that people can age in a way that really affords them the dignity and value that they deserve.

Jeffrey H. Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

Lynn, how much of this public policy discussion centers around education? It would seem to me, we all lead busy lives. We're focused on our families, our friends, taking the kids to soccer practice, whatever.

So oftentimes things like this can be set, we push them away because they're not immediately in our front view mirror, in our front view. So how important is the educational component? It sounds like it's important, especially when you talk about the special tool that CareScout has on its site.

It sounds to me like we need to do a good job passing policy and having the right policy decisions, but we also need a lot of education.

Lynn White, Carescout

So Jeff, the Congressman's bill contemplates a extensive educational effort. And GenWork and CareScout very much support that because we think there is so much that misconception and so much that people need to understand. So that if we can get information to individuals about this need to plan, if they can go to carescout.com and look at the cost of care in their regions, that helps to enable them to think about their plan. We mentioned yesterday, the power of a plan. And I know that we've often suggested that people sit and talk with loved ones as they age to understand what their care preferences are and understand what resources might be available to enable those preferences. So that not only the individual, but the support system around them have all of the information that they need to help and refine the plan, develop, refine the plan, and then to execute the plan when the time comes.

Jeffrey H. Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

And we're talking about, we call them on the network, real Americans. We're talking about, this is not a wealth issue. This is for all Americans.

Every American needs to understand that they're gonna age, that they're gonna have challenges in their future lives and that they need to plan appropriately.

Lynn White, Carescout

So the entitlement, the right to age with dignity knows no socioeconomic level. And so we all need to think about how it is that those who need care can receive it in a manner that they can understand, access and afford. That's very, very important.

It is not an affluent issue at all. And I think because the costs are rising so dramatically, we need to ensure that there are areas or places where people in middle income families can access this care. And that's really important.

And of course we have Medicaid that helps with some people in lower income environments, but we wanna ensure too that the quality of the care really is commensurate with the value that we wanna show individuals as they age.

Jeffrey H. Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

Yeah, well, Lynn, great work. Really appreciate you coming on the network to two consecutive days. And look, we look forward to having you back on the program again very soon.

Lynn White, Carescout

I am happy to come anytime, Jeff. And we really thank you for putting these very important messages out there and making them available widely. It's a wonderful program and service that you're offering.

Thank you, Lynn.

Jeffrey H. Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

Enjoy, have a great, continue the great work on your end as well. Thank you. You be well.

And don't forget to subscribe to our daily newsletter, The Morning Post, for all the news in one place. Details, of course, at our website. And your subscription helps underrate all this great BRN content.

And we're back again tomorrow for another edition of BRN. Until then, I'm Jeff Snyder. Stay safe, keep on saving, and don't forget, roll with the changes.