Facing Coronavirus Threat, Who Are the Nation’s 4.5 Million Long-Term Care Workers?

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The Nation’s 4.5 Million Long-Term Care Workers Face an Elevated Risk of Coronavirus Infection Due to the Nature of Their Work. Who Are They? The nation’s long-term care workers are disproportionately low wage employees, they tend to have direct and frequent contact with patients, and many are middle-aged or older, according to a new KFF analysis. That makes them a group that is at higher risk of coronavirus infection and generally less suited to weather the financial and physical trials of getting sick. About 4.5 million people work in the long-term care industry in facility settings such as skilled nursing facilities and assisted living facilities, and home health agencies, which provide clinical and personal care services in the home.  The COVID-19 pandemic is presenting significant challenges for these workers, with reports of widespread and sometimes deadly coronavirus infections among patients and staff in such settings, especially in hard-hit states. The new analysis provides a look at the characteristics of the long-term care workforce.  Among the findings: Long-term care workers are disproportionately lower-wage earners. Nearly 6 in 10 (58%) earned less than $30,000 in 2018 (compared to 40% of workers overall), and only 8 percent earned more than $73,000. Nearly four in 10 (39%) long-term care workers have a high school diploma or less. Most are in close contact with patients. For instance, aides and personal care workers, who provide medical and/or personal care and come into direct and frequent contact with patients, account for 53 percent of all long-term care workers. Health care providers such as doctors and nurses account for 14 percent of long-term care workers. Another 13 percent are non-clinical support staff, such as maids/janitors, housekeeping and laundry and food service workers, who do not provide medical or personal care but come into frequent contact with patients due to the nature of their work. While a majority of long-term care workers are under age 50, nearly 4 in 10 are 50 or older (38%), including 7 percent who are 65 and older. The vast majority of long-term care workers are women, and a disproportionate share are Black.  Overall, almost 6 in 10 long-term care workers (56%) have employment-based health coverage, 19 percent have Medicaid coverage, and 12 percent are uninsured -- but insurance coverage varies by long-term care setting and occupation. The full analysis, COVID-19 and Workers at Risk: Examining the Long-Term Care Workforce, as well as other KFF analyses and data on long-term care and the coronavirus, are available at kff.org. Filling the need for trusted information on national health issues, the Kaiser Family Foundation is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California.
Contact: Chris Lee | (202) 654-1403 | clee@kff.org
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