The economy for American long-term care will reach $737 billion by 2026, so why is the average nursing home struggling to make ends meet? In 2018, 52 million Americans fit the elder demographic: 65+ years-old, and it’s inevitable for more than half of Americans to find themselves relying on long-term care at some point in their life. Despite the steady demand for elderly care, 66% of nursing homes have closed from 1999-2008, and 10% have done the same from 1999-2019. What’s going on with long-term care in America?
Overall, costs are rising. Today, 67% of nursing home care expenses are covered by public assistance: Medicaid or Medicare. However, Medicaid reimbursements are often dramatically less than the cost of care. Outside contributing factors include general overspending and unnecessarily wasting.
In the past, group purchasing has aided in conserving costs. Today, group purchasing alone is not so helpful. Find the missing piece to the post-acute puzzle in the accompanying graphic.
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