Caregivers need help from LTC insurers

When a long-term care event occurs, family members need help navigating the complexities of daily life while supporting their loved one.

OneAmerica Financial teamed up with Amada Senior Care to deliver a Caregiver Consultant benefit to OneAmerica’s long-term care product, Asset Care 2024.

As part of this alliance, Amada Senior Care provides monthly in-person or virtual consultations to eligible policyholders and their caregivers. During these consultations, they will explore ways to enhance the care plan; provide guidance, education and training to caregivers, and help connect the family with other programs and resources that can improve their quality of life.

Amy Chinn, OneAmerica vice president of LTC claims and risk management, and Tafa Jefferson, Amada founder and CEO, discussed how the LTC marketplace can be transformed during OneAmerica’s recent LTC Summit.

LTC needs becoming more complex

The LTC market is shifting, Jefferson said, as the needs of care recipients and their families become more complex.

“Having the financial resources to pay for care is one thing but having access to other resources – such as a social worker, a physician, a nurse who you can call in the middle of the night – are things that families need at this point. I think that as the market continues to shift, you will see more home care providers or senior care agencies get a little bit more sophisticated their offerings, because that's what the market is asking for.”

The caregiver consultant is an advocate as well, he said. “It’s someone to hold the hand of the family member who's going through a very difficult time. We work in hospitals quite a bit, and you don’t have a lot of time before mom or dad's discharge. In some cases, it's not appropriate for them to go directly home. Sometimes they need to go to a skilled nursing environment. Sometimes, it could be assisted living or memory care. It's not a one-size-fits-all. Families need access to resources because they need to make quick decisions.”

In most cases in which a family member is hospitalized and will need future care, the family does not have a plan for that care, Jefferson said.

“We work with case managers in the hospitals to facilitate discussing how we’re going to have a successful discharge. It’s involving the patient in that discussion and having a holistic care plan, which encompasses who will pay for the care, where will the care be delivered, what type of care is needed.”

Jefferson said Amada provides family caregivers with training on everything from how to lift a patient properly to how to deal with a loved one’s dementia.

Consultants coach the caregivers

Chinn described the care consultants as coaches.

“The caregiver is taking care of our policyholder, and the consultant is coaching the caregiver, so it’s a win-win situation,” she said. “The caregiver with the consultant has a coach and someone even to vent to if they need it. We know this will help support mental health for caregivers because it’s very isolating to be a caregiver.

“When you think about this coach, think about it like a basketball coach. They’ll help you with your technique and they’ll also be there to say, ‘It’s all right. Get back in the game. We’re going to win the championship, whatever that looks like.’”

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Susan Rupe is editor in chief, magazine, for InsuranceNewsNet. She formerly served as communications director for an insurance agents' association and was an award-winning newspaper reporter and editor. Contact her at [email protected].