Genworth Plans Launch of Long-Term Care Service for AARP Members

Genworth Corp. is getting set to launch a new service designed to enable members of the American Association of Retired Persons and their families to use Web-based tools and tap into multiple databases to analyze home health and long-term care needs and choose providers.


Genworth Corp. is getting set to launch a new service designed to enable members of the  American Association of Retired Persons and their families to use Web-based tools and tap into multiple databases to analyze home health and long-term care needs and choose providers.

The service, AARP Caregiving Help and Advice from Genworth, scheduled to launch Jan. 30 and exclusive to AARP members, includes tools to analyze home care needs, create care plans and then match those to services from local providers. CareScout, a subsidiary of Genworth, developed the provider database and other online services.

After creating the assessments and care plans, patients or their family members can compare available services based on numerous factors, including language services, whether the service provider has caregivers trained for specific conditions like Alzheimer’s or diabetes, and whether a provider has dietary services that fit the member’s needs.

“The provider landscape for home care is becoming much more sophisticated thanks to competition, and we’ve tried to get very granular information on those services to enable people to find a provider that offers exactly what they need,” says Jowynna Michel, Genworth’s manager of the service's provider network. Genworth also will operate the caregiving service offline by providing similar services via the phone and also through face-to-face assessments by registered nurses from Genworth.

The service also will feature additional layers of information. Long-term providers were required to confirm their adherence to 45 common business and clinical best practices, the results of which are accessible to users. The service also is linked to state and federal databases that will alert users if the long-term care providers have any sanctions pending, and note whether the provider is Medicare-certified. In addition, CareScout will compile and display “credible” media reports of violations or abuse by long-term providers, Michel says.

In addition, the service will enable users to compare the costs of local service providers, and also offer tools to calculate overall costs of care, including out-of-pocket expenses. There also are plans to launch a user rating service, Michel adds.

AARP research points to a critical need in the marketplace for more information on long-term care services, according to Michel. Of the more than 36 million AARP members, 23.4 percent currently or in the past 12 months have provided non-paid caregiving to a relative or friend age 50-plus, according to surveys. The average age of a caregiver is 49 and provides nearly 20 hours of unpaid care per week.

In addition, the AARP estimates there are 44 to 61 million U.S. adults who provide unpaid care for adults age 50 and older. Of those, more than 65 percent are female, 67 percent are younger than 64 years old, 59 percent are married and 50 percent employed full time.  Adult children between the ages of 45 and 53 are much more likely to have at least one living parent (89 percent of them) whereas of adult children between the ages of 54 and 63, only 33 percent have at least one living parent.

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