The next frontier: Caregiving of adults 

COVID-19 exacerbated what has been referred to as the caregiving crisis. Many workers left the workforce early in the pandemic because of caregiving responsibilities. According to a recent Federal Reserve report, “Although the drag on [labor force] participation from caregiving has diminished since the first year of the pandemic, it remains elevated relative to its pre-pandemic level.” That’s because the caregiving crisis remains.

Childcare tends to come to mind first when we think of caregivers, but nearly 20% of Americans provide caregiving support to adults. For employees who provide unpaid caregiving to adults, the experience can be physically, emotionally, and financially taxing; on average, they spend 24 hours per week providing care. The strain caregivers are feeling has a downstream impact on employers as well. The overall economic impact of unpaid caregiving is estimated to equal $264 billion from a combination of lost jobs, absenteeism, and poorer health outcomes.

In effort to retain this critical segment of the US workforce, employers are responding by improving family-friendly benefits not just for parents, but for those caring for adults as well. In 2023, one-third of large employers who responded to our recent strategy survey said they would provide elder-care caregiver referral services. Other popular benefit offerings are provider and facility search assistance (28%), access to backup elder-care services (19%) and elder-care caregiver leave (13%). But beyond what we’re currently seeing in the market, there are some exciting innovations aimed at relieving the strain experienced by caregivers to adults.

Investments in eldercare technology

Elder care services market sales surpassed $1B in 2021 and are projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 7.6% from 2022-2031. While in 2016 just 28% of market revenues related to caregiving involved products and services that relied on tech, it was expected that by 2021 at least 53% would derive from digital solutions, and the pace of innovation has not slowed over the past two years.

The following are just some of the many areas where further expansion is predicted:

• Care coordination. New solutions addressing navigation services for caregivers are entering the market. These services make it easier for caregivers to coordinate transportation services, procure durable medical equipment and more.
• Health & safety. Health systems and insurers are starting to partner with companies that offer remote device medical exams and lab tests, aimed at closing the gap in preventive care visits that have resulted from the pandemic. Companies also are developing sensors that can be placed on anything from refrigerators to pillboxes, shower doors and more. These products alert caregivers when their loved one’s safety or health may be compromised.
• Quality of life. Traditionally, palliative care services have been offered by health systems, which means that the level and quality of support available can vary depending on where you live. Recently, vendors that specialize in support for end-of-life care are starting to enter the market, making these important services more broadly available. These vendors are also offering bereavement and grief support for caregivers as well.
• Technology. Senior loneliness is a serious problem that significantly increases risks of premature death and dementia. Technology is one way to bridge the gap so that people can connect virtually when in-person visits are impractical or clinically unsafe. Additionally, some companies are exploring the use of virtual reality as a means to support caregivers and the elderly population through community building, fitness, travel, connection, reminisce therapy and caregiver training.

What does the next frontier in eldercare mean for employers?

In the future, caregivers can expect in-home and virtual care offerings to become the status quo. There’s hope that expanded access to at-home remote monitoring technologies and respite care will be widely covered by private insurance plans. No matter where the market ends up, we’re confident that caregiving support will become a key part of the employer value proposition and that easing the caregiving burden will be seen as a vital part of attraction and retention efforts. But if you’re ready to enhance your caregiving benefits now, consider flexible work arrangements, promoting current caregiving benefits and exploring more expansive offerings such as navigation services, concierge care, and back-up care. You could start by asking your employees what help they would most welcome.

To read more about the future of caregiving and other healthcare innovations check out Mercer’s Series, The Next Frontier of Healthcare.