Jeffersonville News and Tribune
Indiana is overhauling delivery of its senior Medicaid services this summer in a move that, hopefully, will make care more efficient and effective.
It’s a step in addressing a major issue facing Indiana — long-term care for elderly Hoosiers.
A recent collaboration between CNHI News and the Associated Press brought home how dire the situation is across the nation. According to the reporting, the number of Americans over the age of 65 is rising, and more than half will require long-term health care. But just a small percentage have begun planning for it, much less figuring out how they’ll pay for it.
This puts pressure not just on our aging citizens but also on their families. As covered in the special report, children and grandchildren are increasingly becoming the caregivers for their parents and grandparents. While it’s commendable family members step up when needed, expecting working-age Hoosiers to be the primary caregivers for seniors isn’t a viable solution to the problem.
Our state lawmakers will continue to explore Medicaid during interim committee meetings over the summer and fall. This will allow for important discussion and consideration of the new Medicaid system and exploration of other ways state officials can assist aging Hoosiers and their families.
It’s certainly not breaking news that assisted living and nursing home facilities are becoming harder to staff and maintain. Providing incentives for employees to work at such facilities is a potential way the state could help offset this problem.
The opening of more adult daycare facilities would also help. Lawmakers must ensure the adult day programs in place don’t fall victim to changes in Medicaid management. More efforts also should be made to provide in-home care for seniors.
Medicaid can’t be the only options for seniors. Financial restrictions and other issues lead to gaps for those in need. We’re in danger of having a society where only the affluent or impoverished have access to long-term care, and that’s a disaster in the making.
Personal responsibility also factors into this crisis. We must have tough conversations with our parents and grandparents about their long-term care. It’s never easy to talk about dementia or the last years of life, but delaying those conversations doesn’t solve the problem. Not having a plan in place only furthers the chaos and pain when the time for long-term care for our loved ones arrives.
There’s enough heartache in seeing those we care about struggle with health and mental issues as they age. Not having a care system in place that enables them to age gracefully and with the respect they deserve makes the situation much worse.
It’s going to take a massive public and private effort to solve this problem. Let’s keep long-term care at the top of the legislative agenda and at the top of our minds. Our parents and grandparents deserve it.