More on Caregiver Shortages
We have blogged in the past on the family caregiver shortage heading our way. Some might even call it a crisis as the baby boomers relentlessly age on in large numbers. On Monday, one item in Kaiser Health News daily briefing offers this headline For Generations, Nation Has Relied On Family Caregivers. But Shifting Social Dynamics Could Leave A Vacuum.The Wall Street Journal examined this issue in America Is Running Out of Family Caregivers, Just When It Needs Them Most(subscription required). The article opens with a focus on one elder who has no children. Who will be her caregiver? “For generations, the nation has relied on family members to keep aging loved ones in their homes. Today, many Americans are growing older without family nearby, offering a glimpse of what the future may hold for the cohort of Americans who are approaching retirement.”
The article pains a somewhat distressing picture of the future facing many older Americans, with low incomes, substantial debt (the article notes some of which may be from caring for their parents), and no family or nearby family to be caregivers. Currently nearly 95% of caregivers are family providing approximately “$500 billion worth of free care annually [yes you read that correctly–BILLION]—three times Medicaid’s professional long-term care spending—and help keep people out of costly institutions, according to a 2017 Merrill Lynch study.” That sounds wonderful, but here is where this is all about to fall apart: “the supply of these caregivers is shrinking just as the nation needs them most. Every day, 10,000 people turn 65. In 2020, there will be 56 million people 65 and older, up from 40 million in 2010” while the number of available caregivers is shrinking, for a variety of reasons. Are there other options? Yes-private sector, but that’s expensive and home health aides may be in limited supply. We already know about the limited benefits through Medicare and Medicaid. Boomers, no strangers to being part of the sandwich generation, may now find themselves in a different type of sandwich-they may be providing care for their parents and will perhaps need care for themselves or their spouses. Families are far flung, so caregiving from afar may be a new model. “Children do what they can from hundreds of miles away, checking references for an aide, managing bills, or arranging grocery deliveries. They often feel guilty for not being there to take a parent to the doctor and uncertain about how someone is really doing.”
Technology (and there are a lot of cool options out there) may be offered as a mode of caregiving, perhaps even a substitute for an in person caregiver, but technology is not without limits. In some areas volunteers are filling in the gaps but of course, funding and sufficient volunteers can be an issue.
So what should these “elder orphans” do? “One-third of middle-age adults are heading toward their retirement years as singles. Women, in particular, are likely to stay or become single as they age….About 14% of frail older adults, or two million people, are without children and the number is expect to double by 2040, according to the AARP Public Policy Institute. “There’s no natural caregiver for this population,” says Grace Whiting, CEO of the National Alliance for Caregiving….While they can, they need to construct a network around themselves, aging experts say.”
The article concludes with 5 recommendations, including local area agencies on aging, transportation, private companies, technology and remodeling a home to make it accessible. To that list I’d add, make a plan and talk to your elder law attorney about it. This is a comprehensive article that would be a good basis for a class discussion!