Home care CEO warns dementia's family burden could drain the paid workforce

Dementia and Alzheimer's disease are projected to cost the United States $818 billion in 2026, and a new study in Alzheimer's & Dementia estimates that families and individuals shoulder more than 80% of dementia's societal costs through unpaid caregiving, lost earnings, out-of-pocket expenses, and quality-of-life losses. Faris Flournoy III, CEO of Georgia-based home care management company Flournoy Health Systems, told Home Health Care News he expects that burden to shrink the paid workforce as workers exit health care — and the workforce altogether — to become family caregivers. The home health workforce shrank by more than 3.4% in the pandemic's first year, and 800,000 more workers could leave by 2027, the outlet has previously reported. Flournoy said low Medicaid reimbursement is already pushing workers toward higher-paying jobs and some providers out of Medicaid entirely, and he projects dementia's cost could exceed a trillion dollars over the next decade.