NEW ORLEANS—Policymakers must address the emerging workforce crisis and pursue public policies to increase access to — and improve the affordability of — senior living options, Argentum President and CEO James Balda said Tuesday, speaking at the association’s Senior Living Executive Conference.
As the senior living industry continues to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, Argentum is sharpening the legislative priorities included in its strategic plan related to workforce development, senior living access and affordability, and the value that senior living offers.
To support advocacy efforts, the association released a new white paper Tuesday — “Caring for our Aging Nation: Policy Solutions to Increase Access to Assisted Living” — that Balda said underscores the challenge ahead of meeting the care needs of millions of Americans as they age, how senior living is prepared to meet those needs, and the policy changes necessary to make that happen.
According to Argentum, the number of Americans needing long-term care will more than double by 2050 to 27 million. The Department of Health & Human Services estimates that 70% of older adults will need some form of long-term care in their lifetime, 50% will need more extensive care and 20% will need it for five years or more.
Most Americans, however, are not financially prepared for their long-term care needs, according to the white paper. The National Conference on Aging reported that up to 80% of older adults (47 million) have modest assets in reserve and would be unable to afford four years in assisted living. Additionally, the Federal Reserve reported that one in four Americans have no retirement savings.
Compared with other long-term care types, assisted living offers lower costs and improved quality of life, Argentum said in another white paper. The association argues that assisted living attends to the social determinants of health to help maintain the well-being of older adults and relieve the burden on public health programs, including Medicare, Medicaid and veterans’ care.
“For the money, assisted living provides more of what matters when it comes to helping seniors stay as healthy, happy and independent as possible,” Argentum Board Chair Joel Nelson, president and CEO of LCS, told attendees at a “State of the Industry” session on Tuesday. “A majority — 60% — of an older adults’ health and wellness is based on the social determinants of health: adequate nutrition, housing and social activities.”
To help quantify the industry’s story, Argentum has launched a new partnership with NIC MAP Vision to obtain better access to data and research. Billed as its first “data and insights partnership,” Argentum said that NIC MAP Vision will help inform conversations with lawmakers. Eventually, Balda told McKnight’s Senior Living, he hopes to make data available to Argentum’s state partners to encourage local conversations with state legislators.
“It’s a great opportunity to better tell our story,” Balda said.
Workforce development key to care access
But the industry needs help from lawmakers to make assisted living accessible and affordable, Argentum maintains.
Addressing the workforce crisis is key to providing services to a growing aging population. Within the healthcare sector, worker shortages in the senior living workforce — assisted living, memory care and independent living — are the most acute, according to Argentum; the industry lost almost 110,000 positions between February 2020 and November 2021, leaving the workforce far below pre-pandemic levels.
Collectively, senior living, nursing home and home care providers will need to fill more than 20 million job openings by 2040, and senior living alone will need 3 million of those workers.
Argentum is gaining momentum behind its Safeguarding Elderly Needs for Infrastructure and Occupational Resources (SENIOR) Act to strengthen the senior living labor force through investments in federal workforce development programs.
Policy recommendations to affect accessibility, affordability
Among the policy recommendations Argentum is backing are those to strengthen the long-term care insurance market so that more Americans can plan for their future healthcare needs. That includes standardizing private long-term care insurance, incentivizing employers to offer long-term care insurance, changing the tax code and launching a public education campaign.
Additionally, according to the association, increasing reimbursement for Medicaid waivers would allow more people to benefit from assisted living through home- and community-based services. Argentum is encouraging Congress and state policymakers to identify ways to provide funding to help deliver assisted living services to more people.
For its part, Argentum is working to address workforce shortages by engaging with different groups to expand the workforce pipeline, including with Job Corps, apprenticeship programs and immigration reform.
New board members, award honorees
Also during the conference, Argentum announced the election of new members to its board of directors:
- Grace Management President Guy Gellar
- Keppel Capital CEO of Senior Living Kai Hsaio
- LeadingAge Colorado President and CEO Laura Landwirth
- Texas Assisted Living Association President and CEO Diana Martinez
- Welltower Head of Corporate Development John Olympitis
- Priority Life Care CEO and co-founder Sevy Petras
- ProMedica Senior Care President and CEO Justin Skiver
- Vi President and CEO Gary Smith
- Sodexo Seniors, US, CEO Zeta Smith
Argentum also presented several awards recognizing senior living employees and innovative programs. Edwin Fumes, executive director of Arbor Terrace Fairfax in Fairfax, VA, received the 2023 Argentum Senior Living Community Leadership Award.
Four individuals were honored with Argentum Hero Awards:
- Janny Flores, caregiver at Belmont Village Buffalo Grove in Buffalo Grove, IL
- Marivic Reyta, garden house supervisor for Merrill Gardens at Ballard in Ballard, WA
- Pat Fuller, medication technician for the night shift at Cogir Senior Living at Rohnert Park in Rohnert Park, CA
- Robyn Baron, health and wellness coordinator at Brookdale Williamsville in Williamsville, NY, received the Leadership in the Face of a Natural Disaster Hero Award for her efforts during Winter Storm Elliott in 2022
Argentum’s Best of the Best Awards recognize new programs and services working to improve the future of senior living. Those recognized:
- CarePredict for its AI-powered predictive platform
- Senior Living Communities for its emPowerD
- Retirement Unlimited Inc. for RUI University
- Merrill Gardens for Truewood by Merrill
Argentum also recognized its Healthcare Apprenticeship Expansion Program All-Stars:
- Tina Wright, a resident services team lead from The Hickman Group
- Valentina Zakieva, a certified nurse assistant with Virginia Health Services
- Shawn tea Hill, activities director with Virginia Health Services
- Stephanie Dennis, resident care coordinator at Charter Senior Living
- Amanda Thorpe, team lead at Charter Senior Living
Argentum put attendance at the 2023 conference at 2,700. The meeting continues through Wednesday.
