Caregiving imposes a tremendous cost on employers. A 2002 study done for the Alzheimer's Association puts at $36.5 billion the total yearly costs to U.S. businesses of workers who are caregivers for Alzheimer's patients. This cost includes, among other things, absenteeism, productivity losses, insurance for workers on leave and temporary worker replacement fees, and use of Employee Assistance Programs.*
The 1997 Mature Market Institute study of employer costs for working caregivers pegged the cost of employer accommodations for caregivers between $11.4 billion and $29 Billion per year in lost productivity alone*
A March 2001 follow-up report by the Mature Market Institute concluded that when an employee is a caregiver for loved one who enjoys long-term care insurance coverage, The employee:
• is twice as likely to stay on the job as a caregiver for someone who does not have private long-term care coverage
• experiences less stress
• faces fewer work disruptions than caregivers for those who lack long-term care coverage. *
Because most employer-sponsored plans offer coverage to employees as well as parents and their spouses, this benefit can be a powerful tool to ease caregiving burdens for workers to gain productivity.*