The caregiver boom: A health care imperative

November 21, 2024

Why We Must Act Now to Support Caregivers and Older Adults

By: Camille Harrison, executive vice president of Medicare and chief innovation and customer experience officer, Florida Blue

For more than 70 years, the baby boomer generation has been leaving its imprint on the American landscape. It’s a generation of people born from post-war optimism — both economically and technologically.  

Now, this historic generation is playing a key role in another lifestyle boom: the caregiver boom. 

Florida already has nearly 5 million Medicare-eligible adults, a number that will continue to grow over the next five years. By 2030, older Americans will make up 21% of the U.S. population and approximately 24% of Florida’s population. 

While people are living longer, healthier lives, the population of younger generations is declining. By 2035, the number of people aged 65 and older in the U.S. is projected to be 77 million, marking the first time in history that the number of older adults will outnumber children under the age of 18, according to data from the U.S. Census.

As our population continues to grow in age, so does our need for caregivers — paid and unpaid — to take care of aging adults and people with chronic illnesses or disabilities. Across the U.S., nearly 50 million family members provide unpaid care to their loved ones — a value of about $470 billion, according to the National Council on Aging.

In Florida alone, there are over 2.3 million family caregivers providing an estimated 1.6 billion hours of unpaid care each year. As a health care business leader, I have seen how important caregivers are to the well-being of older adults. However, there are not enough family members available to keep up with the growing number of people who need caregivers. 

Caregiving takes a toll on many families, particularly the so-called “sandwich generation” who take care of children and an older adult at the same time or those who have to quit their jobs due to the demands of their caregiving duties. For many families, affording outside help to support a loved one is often out of the question, too.

The time to act is now.

By 2040, adults 65 and older will make up the largest percentage of our population. It’s time to think differently. We must reimagine health care delivery and redefine business models to make sure older adults and their caregivers have the resources and support needed now and into the future. Health insurance companies can help lead this transformation by working with community and provider partners through education and adoption of services and technologies to support the health care needs of people of all ages.

• Making health a priority: Direct people to health and wellness programs and resources at all ages, giving them a greater opportunity to stay healthy and active longer in life.
• Investing in health care: More planning and investments in infrastructure are needed to keep health care systems sustainable for older adults and their caregivers.
• Evolving health and wellness resources: As an industry, we also must evolve to continue to serve this growing population of older adults and their caregivers, providing them with the tools they need to take care of their health. Protecting the health of caregivers is imperative to protecting the health of the loved ones in their care. 

As a health solutions leader, Florida Blue is responding to this need with resources, education, and direct support services for the individuals and communities we serve. FloridaBlue.com/Caregiver provides health and wellness tools and resources that can help caregivers take care of the ones they love and themselves, too. Community Specialists, licensed social workers at our nearly 40 Florida Blue Centers, are able to provide face-to-face help, and connect caregivers to local programs. Florida Blue Medicare members and their loved ones can access digital platforms to find care, explore senior living options, understand their health plan, and manage both the physical and emotional stress that so often accompanies caregiving.

Addressing the needs of our aging population requires commitment and collaboration, not only from those providing care and those receiving it, but also from community organizations, government agencies, health insurance and pharmaceutical companies, technology and informatics firms, financial entities, academia, and more. 

Seven decades removed from the baby boom, the caregiver boom is here. The preparation we make now will help us care for baby boomers and their caregivers well into the future.