The healthcare industry faces many challenges—and the solutions are not always straightforward. Each month, Modern Healthcare asks leaders in the field to weigh in on their approach to industry conundrums. This week, we’ll hear Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge, and Joel Theisen, founder and CEO at Lifespark, talk about what’s to come for the care sector. Elderly.
The number of people 65 and older in the United States is projected to grow from more than 56 million today to more than 73 million by 2030. Their care needs will increase with their numbers.
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What do you think is the most important challenge in aged care today?
Smith Sloan: That is an easy thing. That is the workforce. workforce, labor force. We have an aging population and a growing need for services, and we simply don’t have enough people to fill jobs in our fields. This is not just a nursing home problem; this is home healthcare, it’s adult day care, it’s assisted living, it’s holistic. And that is creating significant challenges.
Theisen: At the highest level is the challenge around chargebacks. Everyone talks about value-based care versus fee-for-service. I want to see all systems and all systems players, all segments, aligned with global risk. That, in my opinion, is when the actual amount is filtered down to customers, families, and communities.
What are some policy changes or recommendations that could mitigate the situation?
Smith Sloan: We need a government-wide solution here. It’s not just a [Health and Human Services Department] problem. There is also a State Department perspective and a Homeland Security perspective, which is related to immigration. There are aspects of the Ministry of Education and Labor regarding pre-training and apprenticeship programs. One of the things we’re working on is releasing unused visas for unallocated nurses.
Theisen: There has actually been movement on return policy wise since the Affordable Care Act. I think the return is there; it has changed. What we have to change now is the delivery system, not the payment system. The government said, “Hey, 19% of GDP [in healthcare spending] is unsustainable.” The challenge is that at the service level, we have the old guard still negotiating service fee contracts.
Do you believe we are doing the best we can to support the aging process in place and make aged care home-centered?
Smith Sloan: Most people age in their homes, and most care is provided by family members—who often give up work to care for an elderly relative or loved one. … We have a wide range of services and support with very different funding sources. And that makes it hard for people to stay in their homes. … Form goes after finance, so the gap is partly due to the way we fund long-term care in this country.
Theisen: Not even close. Financial incentives to create lifetime value for seniors are the opposite. They focus too much on fee-for-service and “acute, critical care” rewards in facilities, compared with… in homes and communities where older people thrive. Government efforts to move the market toward more “risky” options will provide financial rewards for at-home value creation, but I think adoption is not high enough and needs to be started. tie.
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