Empowering caregivers while dealing with shortages
Advocates for keeping people out of nursing homes and other institutions are enjoying unprecedented support for in-home caregivers to be better paid, trained and appreciated.
Their cause comes in the wake of more than 200,000 staff and resident COVID deaths in nursing homes and senior care settings, as well as aging Baby Boomers’ clout.
Baby Boomers comprise the second-largest population group in America, at 21.16 percent, narrowly trailing Millennials, who stand at 21.74 percent, according to the online data portal Statista.
Plus, the number of people 60 and older is expected to jump 30 percent by 2050, so home health aides are expected to become one of the fastest-growing professions in the next decade.
Yet as November — National Family Caregiversand Long-Term Caremonth — heightens the issue, a caregiver shortage looms. The national shortfall is expected to reach 151,000 by 2030 and 355,000 by 2040, according to the United Disabilities Services Foundation.
Experts say this shortage is a systemic and long-unresolved problem that requires big changes.
wFor decades, women, immigrants and people of color who support the elderly and people with disabilities have been devalued, says Robert Espinoza, vice president of policy at PHI, a not-for-profit that works to improve long-term services for the elderly and disabled.
Starting in the 1930s, domestic workers were excluded from minimum wage and overtime protections, largely because women’s care was dismissed as “a labor of love,” Espinoza says.
The result of these discriminations are inadequate training and low caregiver wages, which contribute to people leaving the field. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, caregivers are grossly underpaid, with a yearly median income of just $29,430.
“It’s amazing that we’ve designed a system that’s so dysfunctional,” Espinoza says.
Many are advocating for improvements across the board. Some experts say the federal government should design a system such as the one in Washington state, in which eligible residents will receive a $100-a-day allowance for long-term care services for up to a year starting in 2025. A new payroll tax that started this year will pay for the benefit.
Two Congressional advisory councils —the Recognize, Assist, Include, Support and Engage (RAISE) Act Family Caregiving Advisory Council and The Advisory Council to Support Grandparents Raising Grandchildren (SGRG) are working toward policies that will:
• Encourage Medicaid, Veterans Administration and Medicare Advantage programs to expand community-based long-term care options.
• Create a job classification for direct care workers and standardize training and accreditation across states.
• Expand Medicare benefits to include respite, adult day services, home modifications, home-delivered meals and other long-term services and support.
• Increase funding for caregiver support services under the National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP), the Lifespan Respite Program and the Alzheimer’s Disease Program Initiative (ADPI).
While you lobby your local, state and federal elected officials to change the home healthcare system, it’s important to explore these existing programs for assistance:
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI) at ssa.gov/ benefits/ssi
• The Administration on Aging at acl.gov/about-acl/ administration-aging
• The National Institute of Health’s MedlinePlus at medlineplus.gov
• Long-Term Care Ombudsman programs at theconsumervoice.org/get_help Caregivers have long been undervalued in our communities. It’s time to advocate for caregivers so that we can prevent further shortages and provide elderly and disabled individuals with access to quality care.