More Support Needed for Family Caregivers

Look At Caregiving Benefits That Businesses Are Providing For Employees.
Journalists should help explain ‘the why’ behind the problems within caregiving, says The Wall Street Journal’s Clare Ansberry.
by Hope Kahn, National Press Foundation

The federal government is starting to realize the benefits of supporting family caregivers over other models, Debbie Witchey, the EVP and COO of the Healthcare Leadership Council told NPF Long-Term Care Crisis fellows.

This is because Medicare and other government programs provide a fraction of the long-term supportive services that people need to remain in their homes, said Clare Ansberry, a columnist for The Wall Street Journal. Here’s what the two talked about regarding caregiving problems, policies and reporting.

Key quotes from Debbie Witchey, EVP and COO of the Healthcare Leadership Council

“… My three takeaways: (the) healthcare community actually likes having family caregivers and wants to support them, (the) business community understands the burden on their employees as family caregivers and is looking for ways to help, and the federal government is starting to realize the benefits of supporting family caregivers over other models.”

“Our members and I would say increasingly more and more healthcare organizations, certainly not all or most even yet, but are starting to realize that value-based care, that more integrated care, coordinated care is probably a better way to go.”

“From an employer perspective, they actually see (an) increase in health insurance costs for employees who are caregiving because they’re having a lot of their own health issues that they often leave unaddressed or mental health issues, that kind of thing, so health insurance costs tend to go up. Certainly, lost productivity and workday interruptions. ….

… The bigger companies are the ones that can offer the most benefits. I think there are articles out there about Deloitte and Microsoft offering up to four weeks of benefits a year for people to be able to take time off to help in family caregiving, but also a lot of employers are offering navigation services.”

“There is legislation that has been introduced for the past several years, but with a growing number of co-sponsors on the legislation, which is the Credit Caring Act, which would actually pay family caregivers to provide the services to their family members. And then the second piece of legislation I wanted to mention … is the Comprehensive Care for Alzheimer’s Act. This legislation does a lot of things to address Alzheimer’s care, but one piece of it is specifically related to caregiving.”

“… Coming out of the pandemic, the telehealth waivers allowed more care to be done virtually so that people didn’t have to leave their homes. And those were extended for two years, so they’ll expire at the end of 2024. I think there’s general consensus both on the Hill and in the Administration that people think that should be extended or even made permanent.”

Key quotes from Clare Ansberry, Columnist for the Wall Street Journal

“Every day until 2030, 10,000 Baby Boomers will turn 65, and seven out of 10 people will require long-term care in their lifetime. ….

… Family caregivers are the ones who have always stepped in. They represent about 95% of the 48 million adults who are providing care to adults. But today, those family caregivers, those adult children or relatives, nieces, nephews, aren’t always around to help them or they live far away or they’re juggling their own kids and two jobs. And families are smaller too.”

“I found that nonprofits and volunteer organizations often step in to fill the informal caregiving gap, and they’re stretched themselves and they rely so much on the generosity of others and volunteers, and they were great resources for getting me in touch with older adults…”

“Inflation was hitting every sector of the economy, and all reporters were looking at how it impacted the areas and the people we write about. Long-term care providers were raising rates and adding fees, citing, legitimately so, inflation and added costs related to COVID in terms of safety and cleaning and the staff shortages.”

“The way I pitch stories and the way I report and the way I do things is I usually find an example, a compelling example, and then find the data and the reasons behind it. Why is this happening? What does it mean? Who cares and why should we care? But I am more drawn to those human stories.”

Speakers: The Wall Street Journal reporter and columnist Clare Ansberry and Healthcare Leadership Council EVP and COO Debbie Witchey

This program was funded by AARP. NPF is solely responsible for the content.

This video was produced within the Evelyn Y. Davis studios.