The Price of Care
Inflation for family caregivers is particularly devastating.
During this past election campaign, we heard about the price of eggs.
For family caregivers, it’s the price of eggs and, more importantly, the price of care.
Last April, I wrote about new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that shows the price of in-home care for the elderly increased by 14.2 percent between March 2023 and 2024.
The hourly cost of a home health aide could be more than $30, depending on here you live. If you hire a home health aide for four hours a day, typically the minimum required by agencies, you’ll pay $120 a day.
It’s also the price of nursing homes, which can be as much as $9,000 per month.
That’s unsustainable.
I recently heart a CEO of a large home care chain share that he knows only 5% of the marketplace will be able to afford his services.
That’s horrible.
If we included a conversation about the price of care when discussions focused on the price of eggs, then we talk about an issue that will impact all of us. Everyone will face the high cost of caregiving services.
When we have a conversation about the price of care, we can have a nuanced conversation about how little we pay direct care workers and how much we overwork them. We can talk about how the lack of affordable help keeps us out of the workplace. We can talk about the math.
A caregiving experience is really about the economy. This election cycle, we missed the opportunity to talk about this reality. I believe that miss will be painful for us for some time.
What costs keep you up at night?
(Image by Topi Pigula from Pixabay)