Marketing for Medicare Advantage plans paints seniors with a broad brush. These lifestyle ads show the seniors we want to be—active, independent and vibrant. We see a 65-year-old who needs little more from their health plan than they did at age 55 or even 45.
But, we also have to be clear-eyed about what often changes as we age.
There are 22 million Americans age 75 or older today, and with age comes sensory and cognitive changes. Falls and chronic disease become more common, while mobility and immune-system function decline. Simple activities of daily living become more difficult, while the risk of needing long-term care grows. And, with the number of Americans aged 85 and older projected to triple by 2050, associated costs are expected to soar.
That’s why the entire U.S. healthcare system, including health plans, must adapt to meet the needs of the rapidly aging population. Caregiver support should be an integral part of that adaptation.
Increasing needs and care shifting upstream
Older seniors have vastly different needs than their younger counterparts. They’re more likely to be diagnosed with dementia, and a higher percentage of people over age 75 visit the emergency department each year than those 65-74 years old.
They also lean on their loved ones for care more frequently than other age groups. People aged 75-plus are more than 5 times as likely to need help with personal care than people ages 65-74—and, in many cases, this caregiver is a spouse with their own health conditions to manage.
What’s more, the majority of older Americans want to age in place. A 2022 survey found 88% of people ages 50-80 prefer to remain in their home as long as possible, a choice that requires a different approach to clinical care and social support.
This shift will require infrastructure and engagement in the home. It will be a tall order. While the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 25% growth in home health employment from 2021 to 2031, that won’t meet the 44% growth in demand for home health roles the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis is expecting. If job openings go unfilled, older Americans won’t be able to get the help they need at home, and more care gaps are likely to emerge.
Medicare Advantage plans can bolster these efforts. Establishing a lifeline between the health plan and the family caregiver provides caregivers the support they need and deserve as true care partners. Moreover, age-friendly plan design ensures members and their caregivers continue to have access to critical benefits as care needs evolve.
Caregivers’ role in the age-friendly movement
Some organizations have already recognized the rising need and are taking action. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement established the Age-Friendly Health System framework to guide the organization of care with this in mind. This framework incorporates the “4 Ms” of evidence-based, high-quality care: Mentation, Medication, Mobility and What Matters to older adults and their caregivers.
Caregivers make an undeniable impact on each of the four Ms. They are often the stewards for What Matters and the doers for tracking and managing Medication, Mentation and Mobility. In short, they are the most vital communication channel health plans have for what is happening to many of their members in the home.
To promote age-friendly care, Medicare Advantage organizations must then prioritize caregiver support. The more support caregivers receive, the better positioned they are to keep plan beneficiaries in the lowest-cost, highest-quality care setting—the home.
In a time when Medicare Advantage plans are facing cost pressures and looking closely at supplemental benefits, human-led, technology-enabled caregiver support is a cost-effective strategy to promote whole-person care. Caregiver support is an investment in becoming an age-friendly health plan and future success as the graying population ages in place.
Shara Cohen is the CEO of Carallel. Heidi Syropoulos, M.D., is a geriatrician and healthcare advisor.