The Impact of the Pandemic on Long-Term Care for Retirees

Coronavirus has engulfed the world in many ways. Right from jobs to the economy, everything suffered a major setback due to the pandemic. The lockdowns further increased insecurities on personal as well as professional levels. The market dropped and investments hit an all-time low. The repercussions of the pandemic have been severe for all ages and income groups. But things may have been worse for retirees in some ways. Life in old age is difficult enough, and with a crashing healthcare system retirees who primarily fall into the 60 years and above group have faced more hassles than anybody else. While the healthcare system is reviving with the vaccine in place, the effect of the pandemic on long term care has been far-reaching.

Here are some effects of the pandemic on long term care for retirees.

Long term care retirees are at a higher risk

As per statistics, only 1% of the country’s population lives in nursing homes and long term care facilities. However, 42% of Covid 19 fatalities have been reported from these facilities. This is primarily because the patients in this age group fall into the vulnerable category that is most at risk of contracting the virus. However, better times are expected to follow soon enough. The vaccine for Covid 19 has now been developed and long term care patients will be among the first ones to receive it. As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the vaccine will be given out in phases. The first phase, also known as phase 1a, will include healthcare personnel and patients of long-term care facilities. So, long term care retirees will have an advantage here.

1. Buying long term care insurance is now difficult

   Since Covid 19 is known to affect older people in more drastic ways than one, buying long term care insurance for retirees over the age of 65 is going to be a challenging task. People in this age group are considered to be high risk candidates. Many insurance companies have come up with some conditions for long term care insurance for older people. If you have been tested positive, the insurance provider may ask you to wait for three to six months before selling you an insurance policy. This can be hard if you need immediate long term care. In such a case, you will have to bear the costs out of your pocket till the insurance company agrees to sell you an insurance plan. In addition to this, the insurance provider can adopt the same approach if you have suffered from other serious ailments in the recent past. Moreover, in both cases, the insurance premium would likely be higher. Therefore, it may be advised to buy long term care insurance at an early age in life to avoid such hassles in the future.

2. Government provided care may be impacted

   As per the Kaiser Family Foundation, 6 out of 10 patients in nursing homes are covered by Medicaid. This amounts to a large portion of long term care expenses in the country paid by the government at the federal as well as state level. Ideally, when long term care costs are covered under Medicaid, the reimbursement is carried out on a lower rate than when customers cover these costs with a private insurance plan. This may put an additional burden on long term care facilities already struggling because of the pandemic. This is also one of the reasons that the government is trying to promote long term care at home, also covered by Medicaid. Although some states have increased the reimbursement rate given to long term care facilities, helping them cope with the pressure of the pandemic, the system is still under a lot of weight. Retirees may see a shift to home long term care facilities in the times to come rather than institutional long term care facilities.

3. Long term care givers are scarce to find

   The pandemic, along with strict immigration laws, has created a shortage of long term care givers in the country. This has not only impacted the job market but retirees are also finding it increasingly hard to find suitable care givers. More and more people are now opting for home based long term care, as it is considered safer than being in a long term care institution. The rates of transmission for the virus are considerably high at such facilities since the number of people involved is also high. While home care seems to be the better option out of the two as far as the pandemic is concerned, home care also comes with its fair share of challenges. Home care requires more care givers, of which most are immigrants. As per statistics, there were approximately 2.6 million immigrants working as health care workers in the U.S. Immigrant home health aides constitute roughly 75% of the workforce in New York. In Florida, they accounted for approximately 52%. This is likely to force long term care patients to turn to their friends and family members for support. With an ongoing turmoil in the job market and people struggling to keep their jobs or juggle between multiple jobs just to earn more money, taking care of a family member long term, is expected to create further problems.

4. Long term care insurance coverage may not be adequate

   The provisions of a long term care insurance plan can differ for each patient. Moreover, since most of these policies were bought before the pandemic, many plans are inadequate to cover situations arising out of the pandemic. For instance, some policies only cover institutional long term care. But since the pandemic has forced people to shift to home based care, their insurance plans may not cover the costs. In addition to this, the scarcity of care givers has created surge pricing in the market. Care givers are charging higher than before and their services may not be entirely covered under insurance so retirees may have to cover a part of these costs themselves.

To sum it up

Covid 19 wreaked havoc on the world with the U.S being one of the worst hit nations. But things are about to change for the better soon enough. With the vaccine in sight, the pandemic may be over soon enough. Although its consequences on government facilities, economy, stock market, etc. are expected to linger for a while, the worst is likely over.

If you need help with retirement planning and want to know more about how to deal with the financial hardships arising out of the pandemic, you can contact a professional financial advisor in your area.