Congress should pass caregivers’ bill — with caution

Welcome to the first work week of 2016! How’s your health? We hope your resolutions − in particular those concerning health care − have not already fallen by the wayside.

That’s why all Americans should be paying close attention to something that will pop up on Congress’ agenda early in this new year.

When Congress reconvenes in this new year, it will consider an important bill passed by the Senate that would start the process of providing more federal and private assistance to help ease the burden on unpaid caregivers.

But it is also a bill that adds another layer to the already murky waters of health care as it continues to evolve in the United States.

Called the RAISE Family Caregivers Act, the bill – cosponsored by U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. – would create a national strategy uniting federal, state and local governments, as well as communities, health care providers and employers, to share information that will help provide solutions to support millions of unpaid caregivers nationwide.

It also directs that a Family Caregiving Advisory Council be established to provide reports on the strategy’s implementation.

Among the options Murphy would like to see implemented are Social Security benefits for unpaid caregivers and more flexible work hours from employers. Many family members providing care so their elderly parents can stay at home are forced to leave jobs. That void in employment creates a bleak future for many hurt by lost wages, pensions and Social Security benefits that total an average of $300,000 over their lifetimes. So there is a lot at stake here. In 2014, there were an estimated 40 million family caregivers in the United States, 60 percent employed in full- or parttime jobs. Connecticut mirrors the trend with nearly one in six adults already providing care for an elderly relative. Murphy is right when he says the problem will get worse in Connecticut, which is ranked the sevent-holdest in the nation in terms of population and the number of

Many family members providing care so their elderly parents can stay at home are forced to leave jobs. That void in employment creates a bleak future for many hurt by lost wages, pensions and Social Security benefits that total an average of $300,000 over their lifetimes.

residents over 65 is expected to grow by 60 percent by 2040.

And the bill is timely, coming as the role of caregiver is changing. For decades, it fell primarily to older adult children, but recent studies show the age of caregivers is getting younger as wives and husbands of wounded veterans; young parents of children with autism, intellectual and physically disabilities; and siblings pitched in to provide unpaid assistance to the tune of $470 billion in 2013.

There is a lot of good in the RAISE Act, but the bill leaves questions unanswered, such as who would be eligible, how benefits would be paid to unpaid caregivers and who would be responsible for the financial cost. And there are other problems. The sheer number of people the bill affects suggests it has the potential to get bogged down in red tape and government inefficiency and, more importantly, it is ripe for fraud if the proper oversights are not put in place.

As the nation’s and Pennylvania’s population ages, the demand for care will increase and the role of caregiver will increasingly fall to family members and friends. The Keystone State already is one of the ‘grayest’ states in the nation.

Congress should not drag its feet on getting unpaid caregivers the support they need, but also should act with an abundance of caution. Growing old is a fact of life and Murphy is thinking forward. Solutions to help and support caregivers are crucial and the time to act is now.