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By: FEDweek StaffThose who provide unpaid care—typically to older family members—are experiencing increasing amounts of personal and financial strains, and that trend is likely to continue, a study has said.
“Paid care in residential facilities is expensive and often is not covered by Medicare. That is why many families resort to unpaid, at-home care, which creates challenges all its own, as families struggle to manage the tasks that come with such care,” it said, adding that there is a 70 percent chance that someone age 65 and older will require such care in their lifetimes.
Some 42 million people, about one in six adults, are now serving as unpaid caregivers, up by 25 percent in less than a decade, said an analysis by the Seniorly company. “With the population of Americans 65 and older expecting to grow by almost 50 percent between now and 2040, the state of caregiving in the U.S. is likely to get more daunting,” it said.
“Women are more likely than men to provide care to family members or other loved ones, accounting for 61 percent of caregivers, and female caregivers are more likely to be providing care for more than one person (27 percent vs. 20 percent for male caregivers),” it added.
Of unpaid caregivers, most work outside the home and the majority of those work full-time, it said, resulting in a “double shift.” The average time commitment is 24 hours a week, involving personal and medical care, managing finances, housework, transportation and other chores, it said.
“Over the past six years, the percentage of family caregivers who say their own health status is fair or poor nearly doubled, going from 12 percent to 21 percent, and 23 percent of caregivers say their efforts to provide care for their loved ones has come at the expense of their own health,” it said.
In addition, four-fifths of caregivers pay costs out of their own pockets, averaging more than $7,200 a year, it said.
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