It has been several months since I updated my blog because I have gotten busy serving on the Board of Quality Care Properties (QCP) and with some consulting work. I am also just back from a vacation in Costa Rica about which I hope to soon do a post.
An article in today’s (January 23, 2018) Wall Street Journal prompted me to do this post. The WSJ article is entitled “How Immigration Could Affect Grandma’s Care” and is in the “Capital Journal” commentary by Gerald F. Seib. Key points include:
- American is getting older. A fifth of the population will be over 65 by 2050 and 4% will be over 85, both records in terms of absolute numbers and as a percentage of the population.
- A study by PHI, an organization that works with the long term care and home care industry, estimates there are 860,000 immigrants holding “direct care” giving jobs in senior care and perhaps as many as one million when workers providing care independently for families are included.
- The largest share of these workers come from Mexico, the Philippines, Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic; the very countries in the crosshairs of the immigration debate.
- Restrictions on immigration may drive up wages for what are often low paying jobs providing direct care to seniors and this may draw more people into the industry.
- But forcing dedicated, qualified people from other countries to leave, many of who have lived in the U.S. for years, will be a blow to many including seniors who rely on these immigrants for care.
As you consider you position on immigration policy, you should also consider who will care for your parents and eventually yourself and your peers as you age.
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