The increasing number of individuals that require assistive care, continued rising costs for care, and the impact they have on care providers and the healthcare system is profound.
Consider these facts:
Size of need
- 8.5 million seniors require some form of assistive care; growing to 21 million over the next 20 years
- 5.5 million veterans have some type of disability
- 4.2 million children are afflicted by childhood diseases like autism
Care costs
- Out-of-pocket care costs for family caregivers range from $5,000-$15,000 per year
- Autism care and support for one child costs more than $50,000 annually and lifetime costs range from $3.5 to $5 million
- Alzheimer’s Disease care and support for one individual ranges from $18,500-$36,000
- Nursing home care costs $70,000-80,000 annually, assisted living communities cost $36,000, and home care averages $60 per day
- Annual loss to employers of working family care givers is $33 billion ($2,100 per employee) for absenteeism, workplace disruptions, and reduced work status
Caregiver gap
- 120,000 nurses shortage; expected to increase to 340,000 nurses and 159,300 doctors by 2025
- 91% of nursing homes are understaffed
- 65.7 million family caregivers (31% of U.S. households); however, the number of potential family caregivers for each person is decreasing
Social factors