Minnesota and Washington were ranked top in the country for long-term care, thanks to strong support for family caregivers and access to many healthcare providers and long-term care setting options, an AARP report found.
The "Long-Term Services & Supports State Scorecard" used 50 indicators across five dimensions to score states on their long-term care. The dimensions were affordability and access, choice of setting and provider, safety and quality, support for family caregivers and community integration.
Here are eight findings:
- The lowest scoring states were in the Southeast, with Alabama and West Virginia ranking last.
- Twenty-one states experienced declines of 10 percent or more in adult day services since 2016, and 16 states had declines of 10 percent or more in access to home health aides since 2019.
- Medicaid LTSS spending for older adults that went to home and community-based services rose to 53 percent.
- The average annual cost of home care was $42,000 per person.
- Nursing homes in Montana, Kansas, South Dakota, Oklahoma and Missouri had more than 20 percent of residents with low care needs.
- Across all states, wages for direct care workers were lower than wages for comparable occupations, ranging from shortfalls of $1.56 to $5.03 per hour.
- New York, California, Texas, Louisiana and Washington, D.C., offer the least competitive wages in nursing homes.
- Only 22 percent of nursing home residents live in a facility with a five-star rating.
The report offered several recommendations for improving long-term care, including prioritizing support for family caregivers, investing in all aspects of home and community-based services infrastructure, increasing nursing home workforce, and expanding the use of innovative models for quality of care and quality of life.