The Reality Facing Long-Term Care
Providing quality long-term care to Minnesota’s growing senior population
Minnesota’s senior population now exceeds its entire K-12 student population. Soon, 25% of our adult population will be 65 or older. We must prepare so that today’s and tomorrow’s seniors have the support they need to live well.
Realities such as the rising demand for services and the chronic shortage of professional caregivers must be a part of the conversation and the solutions we create together. Families, communities, and lawmakers all play a role.
The population of 65+ Minnesotas has increased 35% over the past decade.
In Minnesota, more than one million residents are already 65 or older, which means the demand for senior care will continue to grow over the coming years.
Providing quality care and support services for seniors is a Minnesota value. It requires strong partnerships among families, communities, professional caregivers and the state of Minnesota.
Sustainable care requires stable funding
For decades, state lawmakers have neglected their responsibility to support care for our seniors. Many seniors rely on waivers and government assistance to support the care they need, but these programs have not kept up with the rising costs of providing care.
Additionally, Governor Walz’s yearly budget proposals continually see cuts and unfunded spending mandates for long-term care providers. The combination of these measures will cause irreparable harm to rural nursing home access.
Nursing homes wait 15 to 27 months, on average, before receiving reimbursement from Minnesota for the actual cost of services they provide to residents. As a result, hundreds of long-term care providers have closed their doors.
Rural Minnesota has been most affected, where 1 in 3 nursing home beds have disappeared over the last 20 years.
If access and affordability continue to deteriorate, seniors and their families will suffer, and lawmakers will ultimately be responsible for the state’s inaction.