Speeches

ECONOMIC IMPACT OF CAREGIVING

FOUNDATION FOR AMERICAN HEALTH CARE LEADERSHIP INAUGURAL MEETING
JUNE 18, 2004

Dorothy Deremo
Hospice of Michigan
President and CEO

Thank you Jon. The issue of the economic impact of caregiving must be put within a context of need and current delivery systems before looking to potential solutions. As Ken Dychtwald once said, the impending baby boomer generation is like a herd of velocoraptors who will eat every health care resource in sight over the next 50 years. We as a nation face impending age wars as this demographic tsunami unfolds if we do not plan for it in advance.

1. DEFINE THE NEED

  • Social Demographics
    • “Pig in the Python” demographics
    • Social security ratio of persons paying into the system to persons receiving benefits
      1. 1950 – 15:1
      2. 2000 – 4:1
      3. 2030 – 2:1
    • Therefore, fewer professional and family caregivers in future
  • Chronic Condition Demographics Today
    • ½ of population has chronic one or more condition
    • Of these, 41 million are limited in daily activities
    • 12 million are unable to go to school work or function independently
  • Employed Caregivers for this Population
    • 65% of all caregivers are between the ages of 35-65 years old
    • 20-25% of all employees are caregivers of elderly relatives
      • 40% are also caring for children under the age of 18 living at home
      • 55% of employed caregivers are female and 45% are male, most are married, work full time and have a median age of 46.1 years
      • The older the workforce and more females employed, the higher caregiving within the employee population
      • The economic value of the free care provided by caregivers is estimated to be worth $257 billion annually
  • Impact on worker productivity
    • 49% of employed caregivers arrived late, left early, or took time off during work
    • 11% took leaves of absence
    • 7% worked fewer hours, took less demanding jobs
    • 4% lost job benefits
    • 3% turned down promotions
  • Impact on worker health (and health care costs)
    • Almost 70% of employed caregivers say that care giving has had a negative impact on health with 20% reporting significant problems
    • 50% cited additional visits to the doctor
    • Employed caregivers use 2-3 times the prescription drugs than non-caregiver employees
  • Calculated Financial Impact (Met Life Study of Employer Costs for Working Caregivers. 1997)
    • American businesses lose between $11 billion in lost productivity and a total of $29 billion each year when you add the additional health care expenses due to employees need to care for loved ones over the age or 50
  • Future is grime
    • 1990 – there were 11 potential caregivers for each person needing care
    • 2050 – this ratio will be 4:1

…. [this white paper conversion will be continued upon completion of the website] …

Download the PDF of this White Paper