“LTC worker shortage a ‘train wreck waiting to happen,’ expert says,” by Alyssa Salela, McKnight’s LTC News

“Low wages and a lack of respect for direct care workers is putting the long-term care industry on a dangerous path to worker shortages, a professor warned last week. . . . There will be a national shortage of 151,000 paid direct care workers and 3.8 million unpaid family caregivers by 2030, he said. That’s expected to increase consistently, with an estimated gap of 355,000 paid workers by 2040.”

LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform):
What’s the main problem? The article continues:

“‘It’s difficult for wages to rise because they are set bureaucratically according to Medicaid reimbursement rates,’ [Paul Osterman, Ph.D., a professor of human resources and management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology] said. In long-term care, two-thirds of care is funded through Medicaid.”

LTC worker shortage a ‘train wreck waiting to happen,’ expert says

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