Long-term care costs can cripple families with aging loved ones. Turlock has a solution | Opinion

Jeffrey Lewis, Francesa Rinaldo
·3 min read

The sudden closures of the Brandel Manor nursing home and Cypress Place Assisted Living have left many in Turlock and the surrounding communities wondering where they will find quality care for their loved However, amid the uncertainty of limited alternatives and the weighty responsibilities of caregiving, parenting and full-time work, there is some hope.

The Turlock City Council approved a $400,000 grant to support the Legacy Health Endowment Person-Centered Care (PCC) program, an innovative initiative offering comprehensive in-home support services for families looking after aging loved ones. The program aims to assist families by providing care while safeguarding against premature placement into a nursing home or the fear of re-hospitalization.

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Since its inception in 2022, the program has aided more than 60 Turlock residents. Its services range from homemaker assistance and caregiver respite to palliative care and behavioral health counseling, and it ensures daily access to essential needs like food, prescription drugs and medical care for those without a primary care doctor. Many of these clients would have been hospitalized or placed in a nursing home without care from the PCC.

While the program welcomes all older adult residents of Turlock, it has prioritized middle-income retirees (the forgotten middle) often overlooked by state assistance programs like MediCal. These retirees and their families face escalating financial pressures and declining health before or during retirement without the state safety net of free services. High out-of-pocket insurance costs and the rising cost of personal and long-term care leave millions of middle-income individuals in precarious situations.

This initiative is an essential step to helping people age with dignity. According to a report from The New School’s Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis, up to 40% of middle-income workers risk plunging into or near poverty during retirement. The report highlights the disproportionate benefit of the U.S. retirement system towards high earners, leaving many middle-income retirees vulnerable.

Middle-income retirees often enter retirement ill-prepared for the financial challenges ahead. They quickly realize that Medicare expenses — including Part B premiums, Part D drug benefits and supplemental policies — significantly diminish their retirement income. Coupled with the absence of adequate planning for long-term care costs, this financial strain becomes even more acute when faced with the prospect of nursing home placement for a spouse or partner.

Long-term care costs are a specter haunting every family. The average annual cost for a private room in a nursing home is around $100,000 while assisted-living facilities cost approximately $60,000 annually. However, in Turlock, retirees can sidestep this reality. The PCC program delivers care directly to their homes at no cost (yes, no cost!) for Turlock residents.

Consider the following example: A resident of Turlock, battling cancer and high cholesterol and currently undergoing radiation treatment, suffered a stroke and is paralyzed on their left side. Their life partner, who also suffers from multiple chronic conditions, receives over 32 hours of free respite care to aid in their recovery.

With the free care from our program, both of these individuals would have been re-hospitalized and then placed into a long-term care facility. Middle-income retirees would have been forced to cover 100% of the nursing home cost, impacting their retirement and likely forcing them to live full-time in a nursing home. When this happens, they eventually go broke, lose their home and become another participant in the state’s MediCal program.

With funding from the city of Turlock and the Legacy Health Endowment, our goal is to extend long-term care services to those in need within their homes, thereby averting premature nursing home placements and protecting their retirement savings and the financial resources of their adult children.

While Congress and the Biden administration remain inactive or incapable of providing long-term care solutions, this initiative stands as a beacon of hope for those in need.

Jeffrey Lewis is the president and CEO of Legacy Health Endowment. Dr. Francesca Rinaldo, MD, PhD, is the chief medical officer for CareLinx by Sharecare, a partner in the Person-Centered Care program.