Introduction
Long-term care encompasses several programs intended to address a person’s health requirements over an extended period. These services comprise non-medical and medical care offered to those incapable of doing fundamental tasks, and they can be free or paid. This solution enables individuals to live as securely and productively as possible. Caregivers offer long-term care in various locations depending on a person’s requirements.
Based on research by Harris-Kojetin et al. (2019), long-term care may also be administered in an institution, such as a care home or community. The most prevalent kind of long-term care is assistance with daily tasks. Examples comprise washing, dressing, using the toilet, eating, and ambulating, such as getting out of bed. On the same note, long-term care can include nutrition, adult day care, and mobility. Therefore, long-term care is a basic program that every aged adult should undergo; as such, it increases their life span.
Mechanisms for Paying for Long-Term Care
Long-Term Care Insurance
Long-term care insurance policies are common procedures that cover all or part of the treatment of an aged individual. In particular, Covert (2019) highlighted that Washington State’s soon-to-be-enacted Act on Long-Term Care Trust would help the disadvantaged and old. In this sense, residents pay 58 cents per $100 into the state’s trust. Moreover, if they undergo a severe debilitating event, state residents may access $100 a day up to a $ 36,500 lifetime ceiling when they require assistance with everyday functions (Covert, 2019).
On the other hand, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States government extended and improved Advance Premium Tax Credits and stabilized enrolment in 2021 to ensure care for the aged progressed (“The U.S. Health,” 2021). As a result, such long-term care insurance can have an impact. One may also qualify for a high-quality tax deduction on their federal return. However, it has its drawbacks, as insurance coverage might be insufficient. Long-term care insurance premiums are often more expensive than therapy. In other cases, rising rates make coverage unaffordable after years of payments.
Reverse Mortgages
Typically, reverse mortgages are a less-known long-term healthcare model. Reverse mortgages help aged homeowners pay for long-term care and other expenditures. Before choosing a lender, customers must understand the terms of these specialist mortgages and analyze their possibilities (Davidoff et al., 2017). Due to their complexity, reverse mortgages are the final choice. Therefore, it is always advisable to contact a financial consultant. In addition, reverse mortgages may have high costs, diminishing their wealth. At the same time, the model can be adequate for individuals who opt to use it. Customers may get tax-free payments from a flat amount, a credit line, or monthly installments.
Differences Between Aging in Place Versus in Nursing Home
Financial
The cost of aging at home is a burden that many people cannot afford. As a result, such individuals can opt for nursing homes. For instance, upgrading a home to make it more senior-friendly in the United States can cost more than $10,000, while visiting caregiver services costs roughly $4,000 per month (Lynch, 2018). This is opposed to when other sets of older individuals who are financially stable and can afford such programs. Therefore, it can be deduced that aging in place is more costly as compared to aging in nursing homes.
Social
Social engagement might vary between aging in place and nursing homes. The problem for the elderly who want to stay within their locality extends beyond control or convenience. As such, they may want to enjoy the home they spent years and money on since it has personal memories, holiday rituals, and site-specific activities. It further helps them maintain relationships with merchants and neighbors. On the other hand, some seniors like the camaraderie and security of retirement communities. They do not want to spend all day with other seniors.
Challenges to Ensuring Healthcare Equity for the Elderly
The fast demographic advancement of elderly individuals globally presents various organizational issues and possibilities as healthcare systems change their emphasis toward promoting healthy aging and enhancing long-term quality. Unquestionably, the aging of the population will affect the demand for present health and social care services. As a result, it will intensify the strain on the limited resources, leading to their depletion. Moreover, many perceived impediments to long-term care have been discovered, including a lack of perceived value, anticipated usage challenges, concerns about privacy and trust of the utmost care of the aged, the ease of a digital system, and its related cost.
Policy Recommendations for Long-Term Health
Countries must create creative technological solutions to improve their global set and social utilities within the context of policies that address older individuals’ specific healthcare requirements. On the same note, although eHealth systems and treatments can deliver cost-effective remedies to ease the rising demands on healthcare systems, this optimistic narrative may ignore some of the unintended effects of health-system technology. Conversely, Warshawsky (2017) underscores that governments should employ the established and expanded dynamic microsimulation model, DYNASIM3, to examine policy recommendations for funding long-term services and supports (LTSS), mainly focusing on health programs. Essentially, this will minimize the cost of a disastrous insurance policy to the federal government.
Conclusion
Overall, the total cost-saving potential and the ability to assist older persons in staying independent for as long as feasible, as well as long-term sustainable health services for the elderly, are necessary despite the possibility of guaranteeing that the design of long-term systems may be implemented to improve health outcomes and cost-effectiveness. Thus, there is a paucity of research assessing the intended and unexpected impacts of a digital approach to sustainable healthcare delivery. This is especially significant for nations that have completely migrated to eGovernment and are adopting favorable insurance policies.
References
Covert, B. (2019). Washington State has created the nation’s first social insurance program for long-term care. The Nation. Web.
Davidoff, T., Gerhard, P., & Post, T. (2017). Reverse mortgages: What homeowners (don’t) know and how it matters. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 133, 151–171. Web.
Fang, M., Siden, E., Korol, A., Marie-Anne Demestihas, Sixsmith, J., & Sixsmith, A. (2018). A scoping review exploration of the intended and unintended consequences of eHealth on older people: A health equity impact assessment. Human Technology, 14(3), 297-323. Web.
Harris-Kojetin, L. D., Sengupta, M., Lendon, J. P., Rome, V., Valverde, R., & Caffrey, C. (2019). Long-term care providers and services users in the United States, 2015-2016. Cdc.gov. Web.
Lynch, M. (2018). Aging in place vs. assisted living … It’s complicated. CNBC. Web.
The U.S. Health care landscape in the time of COVID-19: Coverage and costs. (2019). Rand.org. Web.
Warshawsky, M. (2017). The urban institute model of financing long-term services and supports: A critical review. Health Affairs Blog. Web.
