Over the last several months, parts of the world have had a backlash against the for-profit senior care industry. But the reasons why aren’t always quite clear. And even though there are reasons why this stance exists, the reasons why are sometimes misguided.
The biggest reason why people have an issue with the for-profit sector of the care industry is because of the loss of life that occurred during the beginning stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, many care homes were not prepared for the pandemic. Even fewer businesses, regardless of profitability, knew what the best ways to handle the pandemic might be. The end result of this was a tragic loss of life. Tens of thousands of people passed away because of the illness, some of this can be attributed to understaffing, lack of oversight, and poor follow through. A decent portion of this happened in the for-profit sector.
The pandemic showed us that we need to do a better job of regulating the businesses that help our loved ones as they age. We need to take greater strides to protect people’s lives and uphold their rights.
That is not to say that there are no bad actors out there. Just like in any other line of business, there are companies that put profit over people, putting individuals’ quality of life at risk as a result of this.
The competitive nature of the economy has received a bad reputation when it comes to medical care, and for good reason. High prices exclude people from what is a basic right for individuals. Having access to care–medical, senior, child, or anything else–is something that everyone should have. High prices make it so that some people can’t access certain types of assistance, and that’s not a good thing. But competitiveness in the care business is a good thing. If all care were to become public, some of the drive that moves the economy forward would disappear. Less of an ability to make a good salary, innovation, and other factors depend on the allure of for-profit care.
But it’s important to note here that care should be accessible to all. Unfortunately, what we’re seeing is not a good mixture of for-profit business, nonprofit care, and public health models. For example, some doctors have stopped accepting Medicaid (Medi-Cal) because these state sponsored insurance policies tend to pay providers a little bit less than private insurance does. This means those who only have Medicaid policies have fewer choices when it comes to the treatment or help that they get. A better solution is needed.
This is a big question and brighter minds than my own have been unable to come up with an acceptable answer.
The good news is that the issue is getting much more attention now than ever before. In the aftermath of the pandemic, access to healthcare has become a mainstream topic. Hopefully, as time goes by more and more people take strides to improve the quality of care that our elderly receive, regardless of where or how it is received.
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