The consumer's guide to price versus value in long-term care

One of Warren Buffet's most famous quotes is, "Price is what you pay: value is what you get." This is an idea that largely has guided his investment decisions that he has used to achieve an unparalleled level of success. 

One of the most critical distinctions between price and value is that price is arbitrary, and value is fundamental. For example, consider a person is selling, For example, consider a person selling gold bars for $5 a piece. The price of those gold bars is, in this instance, $5. The seller chooses an arbitrary amount for reasons known only to them. Yet, even though those gold bars are priced at $5, their value is so much more.

This happens a lot in the stock market. The examples may not be as immediately noticeable as $5 bars of gold, but they are often quite extreme in their own right. You see, the price of a stock is determined by a list of factors it would take years to read through. Many of these factors are driven by human characteristics and emotions, such as fear and greed, market tendencies, and events so distantly related that trying to unravel the correlation between those events and the stock's price would make your head spin. All of these things can and do affect the price of a stock, sometimes to a large degree, but rarely do they significantly affect its value.

Home care companies that charge the lowest prices pay their caregivers the least. To have high-quality caregivers, they have to be paid well. Many people think that care is very basic and entry-level, but HIGH-QUALITY home care is not. Top-tier companies have very educated caregivers with strong, soft skills. A large percentage of the work of a caregiver is psychology based. Unsurprisingly, one of our most loved caregivers by our patients throughout the years was a psychologist in Lithuania! He had a deep understanding of people, and the level of care he provided was invaluable. Top-tier caregivers thoroughly understand disease processes and gather data daily to ensure their client's well-being. Not only that, they have excellent attendance, which is crucial when providing caregiving services.

Case managers at top-tier home care companies are very educated in geriatrics with a plethora of experience. They check in daily with staff and patients and often provide around-the-clock support. Our case managers have and continue to save our patients' lives and offer them a higher quality of life by preventing infection, catching complications, identifying disease advancement right away, and providing thorough care plans that integrate disease-specific protocols and activities. This skill requires education and consistent and close monitoring of clients. 

Many people do not think they require a complex service, which is a common mistake. In older adulthood or while serving populations with chronic conditions require a much more comprehensive skill set than what many compare to nannies or housekeepers. Many hospitalizations and complications are caused by not receiving adequate care hours and care provided by individuals that are not appropriate based on the patient's medical history, etc.

For instance, Tom* had been living with his son for years. Tom's son decided to go on vacation and line up home care for Tom while he was gone. On our first visit, we saw that Tom needed a swallow study to avoid aspirating. Tom had been eating regular food in the home unsupervised prior to our care. With our insight, Tom got scheduled for a swallow study and was quickly evaluated for pneumonia. Tom may have developed severe aspiration pneumonia and died without educated case managers and team members. Tom went on to live several more years under our care with a relatively high quality of life in the home, where he could maintain a level of independence.  

Top-tier home care consists of educated caregivers that are excellent at observing, recording data, and develop deep and meaningful relationships with their clients, knowledgeable and experienced case managers that are diligent, scheduling, insurance, tax management, provide HR, around-the-clock support. There's a lot that goes into providing each client care. 

Large firms base their services on volume and provide less diligent care. After spending years in the community, prospects have come to us all saying the same things. Their past caregiving experiences provided them with caregivers who couldn't communicate and didn't understand their cultural norms; they felt caregivers weren't well groomed, were always on their cell phones, and lacked emotional intelligence and common sense. 

Agencies that provide a low-cost service can't provide all these things. If in need of simply a companion and do not have chronic conditions, this may be a viable option. However, those with more than one chronic condition and those closer to the end of life require more complex care, and the diligent management of care profoundly impacts the person's day-to-day existence. According to a survey, the average cost for around-the-clock in-home care is $18,972 a month. In-home care provides individuals that come to you and provide care only to you versus several patients in a facility. These costs in facilities are shared. Many consumers quickly find that if their loved one is a fall risk, facility dwelling is not suitable; many facilities recommend hiring a service to supervise their loved one in the facility. 

While many families may not have an unlimited budget for care, one of the best strategies to keep care costs down throughout the lifespan is to utilize care before it becomes reactive to a crisis that occurs. In these situations, care costs are significantly higher and, most of the time could have been prevented. The decisions made regarding care significantly impact the patient's life. We have observed thousands of patients in all care settings with different conditions, cultural backgrounds, and financial situations. With over 20 years of experience, we are happy to educate families and help them choose the best avenue for their unique situation. To schedule a personalized assessment that includes advisement of which avenue of care may be best for your situation (skilled nursing, assisted living, home care, hospice care) and guidance and assistance with paperwork for both public and private financial programs, click here.