COA 9-27-19 Handout. Shortage of Care Workers

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The demand for home care workers — also known as the "direct care" workforce — is expected to increase dramatically in coming years. Government statisticians rank homf care as one of the nation's fastest growing occupations, with an additional million workers needed by 2026; that's an increase of 50% from 2014. And the number of Americans age 85 and older is projected to more than double in the next few decades, soaring from 1.8% of the population in 2010 to 4.5% in 2050. Expectations of the Coming Home Care Worker Shortage Sadly, the dismal combination of low wages, inconsistent work schedules and poor advancement prospects will snake it extremely hard to fill the projected home care positions. In fact, the shortage of professional caregivers may well be even worse than you — and experts — think. That's the gloomy conclusion I reached after attending several sessions on the future of the home care workforce at the recent Aging in Americ conference in San Francisco. .Also on Forbes: Today In: Investing That said, during conference sessions and subsequent conversations I had with home care experts, I heard about a few intriguing initiatives to improve working conditions, which could shrink the high industry turnover and boost recruitment. The impending shortage of caregivers is becoming a problem that growing numbers of people want to fix: "I think recently I have seen more attention by people in the elder network and general public on the plight of home care workers," says Lisa Gurgone, executive director of the Home Care Aide Council in Watertown, Mass. Will There Be a Political Solution? Reform will be hard, however, and could take years of advocacy and lobbying. At the moment, federal legislators and the Trump administration show no inclination to grapple with overhauling the long-term care infrastructure, rewriting Medicaid rules in order to hike workers' pay and benefits while lower the out-of-pocket cost to clients.