Fewer and fewer caregivers report having conversations with theirhealth professionals about what they need to care for theirrecipient or to support their own well-being. (Photo:Shutterstock)

There are more of them. They are in poorer health. They areproviding more intense care for longer periods of time in closequarters. These are the 53 million family caregivers, 21.3 percentof the population, who are providing unpaid care for lovedones.

This according to the latest AARP/NAC Caregiving in the US 2020 report,which was published on May 14. The data is based on quantitativesurveys of nearly 1,400 people taken BEFORE the novel coronavirushit.

Related: Caregiving a growing priority for moreemployers

You can read the executive summary, but here are somehighlights:

• One in five Americans (21.3 percent) are caregivers.
• They spend nearly 24 hours a week providing help throughactivities of daily living (dressing, toileting, etc.) andinstrumental activities of daily living (driving, shopping,cooking, etc.)
• They are increasingly being called on to be health careadvocates, interfacing with providers and agencies in anenvironment where it is harder to coordinate care.
• Female boomers still comprise the majority of caregivers andcare recipients still skew older. That said, the percentage of GenXand millennial caregivers is increasing and care for those 18-34rose from five percent to eight percent of caregivers.
• There is growth in the number of African American caregivers(88 percent compared to 77 percent in 2015) and Hispanic caregivers(92 percent vs. 85 percent in 2015). The youngest caregivers arealso more often caring for an adult relative (91 percent) than in2015 (85 percent).
• Care recipients have increasingly complex medical and supportneeds.
• A greater proportion of caregivers report being in fair or poorhealth (21 percent, up from 17 percent in 2015), particularly acuteamong Millennials.
• Many caregivers live together with their recipient (40percent), a proportion that has grown since 2015 (34 percent).

A health care issue, not a benefits program

In my last BenefitsPRO article, I suggested thatcaregiving be considered a social determinant of health. That is alofty idea that will not necessarily penetrate with pragmaticleaders and human resources professionals. So, let me appeal tothat side of you.

Consider this. I interviewed Logistics Health CEO Don Weber acouple of years ago for a Caregiver Summit I produce. In addition tohaving a fantastic culture toward caregivers and providing greatbenefits, they provide employees three hours of paid wellness timeper week. At the time I spoke with him, Logistics had no premiumincrease in their health insurance plans since 2011. In fact,premiums were down 26% because of their investment in the overallwellness of employees. Their health care costs have decreased by$1.8 million as a result.

Consistent with a recent CDC report, fewer caregivers reporttheir health status as excellent or very good and a greaterproportion report being in fair or poor health. And according to arecent report from the Northeast Business Group onHealth, employers report caregivers abandoning self-care.

Leaders cannot think of caregiver benefits as a cost center withno measurable ROI. Look at the big picture. Providing meaningfulbenefits impacts the health of your employees and the health carecosts of the organization.

Health care as a potential partner

Most commonly, caregivers rely on health care professionals (55percent) followed by family and friends (43 percent) forinformation about care for themselves and their loved ones. Yet,support from those same health professionals has decreased.Consistent with a recent JAMA report, very few caregivers reporthaving conversations with their health professionals about whatthey need to care for their recipient (29 percent) or to supporttheir own well-being (13 percent), the latter down from 16 percentin 2015.

Our company is piloting a prescriptive caregiver solution thatis actually administered through an office encounter by thephysician, PA, or office administrator. It helps initiate theseimportant conversations but more importantly, provides a tangiblesolution for the caregiver while enhancing patient experience andpromoting better health.

Advocacy and coordination assistance

Exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, there are fewerinteractions with health care providers and that trend willcontinue for the foreseeable future as people are hesitant to go toan office for care. That puts more of a burden on caregivers. Theyincreasingly need help navigating forms, paperwork, and eligibilityfor services. More importantly, they need help as advocates whendueling with insurers and providers. While disease-specificassociations offer advocacy (think American Cancer Society,American Heart Association, etc.), there is a growing profession ofpatient advocates who can help and companies would be wise toutilize their services for the benefit of employee caregivers.

These continuous battles are a big source of stress forcaregivers so providing that assistance would help alleviate stressand in turn (sense a theme?) reduce health care costs in the longterm. Coordination tools could be a huge help too. I utilized LotsaHelping Hands when I had to provide long-distance caregiving for mymom when my sister was diagnosed with cancer. There are app-basedtechnologies as well.

Home as the hub

Most care recipients live in their home and as this reportnoted, 40 percent of caregivers and recipients live together. Whilethe need for respite programs immediately surfaces,it is important to note that the most common information andsupport needs caregivers noted were related to keeping their carerecipient safe at home (26 percent).

Technology adoption among caregivers to assist with care is loweven as all the bells and whistles technologies get the most press(think robots!). Half of caregivers have used at least onetechnology or software to help with caregiving (53 percent). Mostcommonly, one in three track their recipient's finances. Three inten have tracked their recipient's personal health records. Fewerhave used assistive devices for their recipient (17 percent) orhave used apps, video, wearables, or other remote monitoring tocheck up on their recipient (13 percent).

Whole-house monitoring solutions and smart-speaker technologiesare emerging and companies would be wise to partner with reputableorganizations to help offset costs for employee caregivers whocould benefit from these services. Companies also need to helpemployees understand how technology can be their friend.

It all starts with culture

No amount of benefits can overcome a bad culture. In this latestreport, half of working caregivers report that their supervisor isaware of their caregiving responsibility. Part of that is becausecaregivers are still afraid to self-identify. And one way ofidentifying is to utilize offered benefits programs. That is a bigCatch-22.

We need to move the needle here and it will take employersworking in tandem with the health care industry to effectivelyaddress the growing number of caregivers needs in this country.

Anthony Cirillo, FACHE, is a health andaging expert; global practice partner at Global InstitutionalSolutions Healthcare and a participant in both the NationwideFinancial / National Council on Aging Health and WellnessRoundtable and the Bank of America Elder Care Policy Roundtable. Heis on the national board of Senior Net and a former executive boardmember of the Dementia Action Alliance.

Read more: 

• House bill would provide $200 million in caregiverrespite spending
• Caregiving costs to working families to double by2050
• Caregiving duties drive many employees out of theworkforce