Invaluable Service of Caregivers

How valuable are today’s caregivers? A recent report by the AARP Public Policy Institute, Valuing the Invaluable, puts a price tag on the 34 billion hours of estimated care given to adults with limitations in daily activities: a whopping $470 billion in unpaid labor.

Given the scale of this reality, ensuring better recognition of and support for family caregivers has become a health, economic, and social imperative across the nation.

Some key finding in the report include:

  • Today’s family caregivers have an array of responsibilities, including advocacy, dealing with health insurance claims, providing transportation, and hiring/supervising other care workers. In addition with help with self-care in daily living, they provide emotional and social support, and often perform complex medical and nursing tasks. Most of this work is performed with little instruction or support from health care professionals. While there is satisfaction and meaning in this work, there is also an increased risk for feeling overwhelmed or isolated in their labors.

  • Trends in family caregiving show that there is a widening demographic of providers across age, race, socio-economics and gender. Data indicates an increase in the number of complex care tasks such as pain management, wound dressings, and handling medications. These increased needs are serious given that most of the caregivers are juggling other demands in paid work - a shift upward that will increase as baby boomers age. Indeed, the economic costs of caregiving can be high given the lack of workplace benefits to support family caregivers and the potential loss of income and disruption to careers. Concerns are that a rising demand and the shrinking size of families will increase the strain on family caregivers. In 2010, there were 7.1 potential family caregivers for every person age 80+. By 2030, there may be only 4.1 potential caregivers for every person 80+.

  • Policy and Practice need to keep up with the changes in both the public and private sectors. Some positive movements forward include the Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage (RAISE) Family Caregivers Act, a national family caregiver support strategy across the lifespan currently on the horizon. Both the Medicare and Medicaid programs continue to better identify and support family caregivers in health care and LTSS and Policy and training initiatives are moving towards adopting person- and family-centered care. Across the U.S. the Caregivers Advise, Record, Enable (CARE) Act has been enacted in 43 states and territories, there is a growing momentum and support for paid family leave in the workplace, and some states are beginning to provide financial relief for family caregivers.

The way forward is clear: more action is needed to help caregiving families. Federal and state policies need to continue to evolve in the direction of strengthening support to family caregivers. One fact is clear - the aging of the population and its impact on families can no long be viewed as a private, family-only issue. We need to actively invest in family caregiving supports to ensure a healthy and caring society for our families and ourselves tomorrow.

We also need to be mindful of how we are allocating our resources and planning for the future. The team at Hillsborough Wills & Trusts has the expertise to help you Build Your Circle of Security through strong legal documents and good counsel. We are here to help you succeed! Contact us at: https://hillsboroughwills.com/contact

For additional reading, go to: https://doi.org/10.26419/ppi.00082.001

Colin Austin