6 minute read
Caring For Your Employee Caregivers
By: Gretchen Barry, BuddyIns
November is Long-Term Care Awareness Month, a time to raise awareness about the need for planning for a long-term care event and the options available. Whether employees are caring for an adult loved one or they need care themselves, either event can impact their futures and the company’s bottom line. Long-term care refers to the personal and medical assistance that people may need when they are unable to perform basic daily activities, such as bathing, dressing, eating, or moving around. Long-term care can be provided at home, in a community setting, or in a facility. This article will not cover the different types of funding solutions for long-term care as there are many. What I want to cover is the impact of care on individual employees.
According to a 2020 report by AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving, there are about 53 million family caregivers in the U.S., and most of them are also working.
Long-term care is not only a personal issue, but also a workplace issue. Our national caregiving crisis greatly impacts companies directly as employers report key employees coming into the office late and leaving early to care for loved ones at home or in a facility. Productivity decreases as these employees effectively have another job to do.
If one were to quantify the amount spent on unpaid caregiving it would total $500 billion dollars annually, or more than the annual GDP of 90% of the countries in the world (America is Running Out of Family Caregivers Just When It Needs Them Most, WSJcom, 2018).
Employers and benefit brokers should be aware of how caregiving impacts employees and what they can do to support them. Here are some key points to consider:
Caregiving impacts employees' health, productivity, and finances. Caregiving can take a toll on their physical and mental health, as well as their ability to balance work and family responsibilities. Caregivers may experience stress, burnout, depression, anxiety, sleep problems, chronic diseases, and lower immune function. They may also face reduced work hours, lower income, higher expenses, and lower retirement savings.
A family member's long-term care event can have a significant impact on an employee's career and well-being. It’s important to remember that it can happen to anyone, at any age, due to an accident, illness, or sudden disability. A long-term care event can affect an employee's availability, performance, and satisfaction at work. It can also affect their relationships with their family, friends, and coworkers. Employees may have to take time off work, reduce their hours, change their schedules, relocate, or quit their jobs to care for their loved ones.
Planning for their own long term care is important for employees' future security and peace of mind. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, about 70% of people turning 65 today will need some type of long term care in their lifetime.
Long-term care costs continue to rise for several reasons, including:
Higher demand: As the population ages, more people will need long-term care services, especially home-based care, which is preferred by most seniors. The Covid-19 pandemic also increased the demand for home health aides and other caregivers who can provide care in a safer environment.
Higher labor and supplies costs: The cost of providing long-term care services is influenced by the wages and benefits of the workers, the cost of supplies and equipment, the regulatory requirements, and the market competition. Long-term care providers continue to face challenges in recruiting and retaining qualified staff, especially during the pandemic, which drives up labor costs. The cost of supplies and equipment may also rise due to inflation or shortages.
Longer lifespans: People are living longer than ever before, thanks to advances in medicine and public health. However, this also means that they may need long-term care services for longer periods of time, increasing the total cost of care over their lifetime and a greater burden on caregivers.
The rising cost of long-term care poses a significant financial challenge for many families who may have to pay out of pocket or rely on public assistance programs such as Medicaid. But that’s not the only issue. Those who have loved ones receiving skilled care are still burdened with monitoring care and managing care coordination.
There is hope with a new wave of Long Term Care Insurance and Caregiving Solutions
There has been a dramatic recent increase in long term care focused insurance solutions in the marketplace. As recently as summer of 2023, there were only a few products designed with guaranteed or simplified health underwriting for the worksite filed as true 7702B LTCi. By the end of 2023, we expect there to be at least a dozen LTC focused insurance products.
Most of this new wave of products are hybrids in that they are built on permanent life insurance where there is a significant LTCi component, which often time extends the duration of the LTC coverage beyond the original death benefit.
These products are easy to access, affordable, and a starter plan to provide a modest amount of built in funding toward the cost of care. As important as the funding, it provides the caregivers a roadmap to get some help with professional care instead of taking the entire burden on themselves.
We are also seeing a wide variety of resources and technology solutions for family caregivers being offered in the workplace as employer paid or voluntary benefits.
Expanding the Discussion Around Long-Term Care Planning
Employers and benefit brokers can play a vital role in educating employees about the importance of long-term care planning and the benefits of long-term care insurance.
Flexible schedules and employee assistance programs can also improve an employee’s experience. Providing access to affordable and quality long term care insurance plans through group or individual policies will become a more sought-after benefit. By doing so, companies can help broaden the conversation about planning and help more employees prepare for their own future needs and enhance their loyalty and retention.
Yes, November is National Long-Term Care Awareness Month, but planning for long term care is a year-round endeavor. Take this opportunity to start or continue the conversation with employees about this important topic.
Gretchen Barry, Chief Marketing Officer for BuddyIns - a technology, education, sales, and marketing company specializing in long-term care planning. With over 20 years of marketing leadership experience, Gretchen has built an extensive marketing portfolio. Gretchen works closely with the BuddyIns team and partners to identify ways to advance the company's brand, partnerships, and mission. With first-hand experience as a caregiver, Gretchen understands the inherent challenges and unlimited opportunities facing the company and the LTCi industry Gretchen can be reached at gretchen@buddyinscom.
