About Jamala Arland
Jamala Arland, President and CEO of U.S. Life Insurance at Genworth Financial, discussed the company’s 2024 Cost of Care survey in a September 2024 interview. She stated that Genworth has conducted the survey since 2004 to help families plan for aging by connecting cost to quality of care. Arland noted that cost trends have continued to increase, with home care costs rising 7 to 10% year-over-year to a median of $70,000 to $75,000, and facility care costs increasing 1 to 5% to a median of $100,000 to $115,000. She attributed facility cost increases to inflation and a restabilization of the housing market, and identified a shortage of care workers as the most critical driver of cost and care increases.
Arland emphasized the importance of families having early conversations about aging and financial planning, describing such discussions as "awkward and challenging" but necessary to avoid delay. She said Genworth’s hope with the survey is to help families start those conversations and create a care plan that meets their goals, ultimately providing peace of mind.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Jamala Arland's recent appearances.
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Transcript (9 segments)
I
Interviewer0:09
Joining me today on NYSC Floor Talk is Jamala Arland. She is President and CEO of U.S. Life Insurance at Genworth. Jamala, it's fantastic to have you here. Thanks for joining me.
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Jamala Arland0:17
It's great to be here with you, JY. Thank you.
I
Interviewer0:21
So now, Jamala, tell me what is Genworth's Cost of Care Survey?
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Jamala Arland0:23
One of the first steps in making a plan for your aging journey is understanding your care options and the cost. So since 2004, Genworth has been conducting a flagship Cost of Care Survey to do exactly that: help families navigate and figure out how to make a plan for the aging journey. There are not a lot of resources available for consumers to make that plan. Ultimately, what's special about the Genworth Cost of Care Survey is that it helps connect the conversation from cost to quality, and then within the spectrum of quality, taking the conversation from the basics of safety to person-centered care, which is really about care for who you are as an individual. Ultimately, it's about humanity.
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Interviewer1:06
What would you say was interesting about this year's survey?
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Jamala Arland1:09
What we've seen for the last few years is that cost trends have been increasing. Year over year, what we saw in the survey is that continuing, especially in home care. In the home care setting, we saw that cost increased about 7 to 10%, taking the median cost of care to about $70,000 to $75,000 in broad dollars. Why this is significant: what we've learned from paying over 400,000 claims and $30 billion in claims is that people want to have their care in the home. On the facility side, we saw that care trends increased about 1 to 5%, taking the average median cost of care from $100,000 to $115,000 in broad strokes. That increase is significant because since 2001, we've seen about a 20% increase in the cost in facilities. That's really driven by inflation and also a restabilization of the housing market. Ultimately, the most critical driver of cost and care increases is a shortage of care workers.
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Interviewer2:07
Jamala, why is it important for families to know this information?
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Jamala Arland2:10
It's a full circle moment. The conversation about care: when you're growing up, when you're a teen, you have the talk with your parents. As they age, having the talk with them about their aging journey is really important. Both of those conversations can be awkward and challenging and difficult to have, but it's important not to delay because making a plan and thinking about the financial impact is really important. Ultimately, our hope with the Genworth Cost of Care Survey, consistent with our mission, is to help families start that conversation, to put in place a plan for care that they want to meet their goals when they're aging, and then ultimately to really create peace of mind.
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Interviewer2:53
Jamala, thank you so much for joining me on Floor Talk today.
