Establishes a 3 year respite care demonstration program to provide support to informal caregivers

Section 2 makes the act effective January 1, 2009, provided that the act shall expire and be considered repealed two years thereafter. It also ensures that the Department of Health is empowered to implement any rules and regulations necessary for the act to take effect.

Existing law

None applicable.

Justification

Caring for an individual, such as an elderly relative or a disabled child, who has limitations performing activities of daily living can be very difficult. Providing 24-hour care can put an enormous emotional and physical strain on caregivers. According to Companion Connection Senior Care, a national home-care organization, more than half of caregivers report some form of burnout. They likewise suffer from high rates of depression, experience immense stress and often feel angry or anxious. By authorizing licensed residential health care facilities with excess beds to provide short-term, temporary respite care services, caregivers will be afforded the opportunity to take a prolonged break, such as a vacation or long weekend, without being concerned that their loved one is not receiving the level of care to which he or she is accustomed.

Providing caregivers with time off from caregiving may result in additional benefits as well. According to the American Society on Aging, some caregivers must quit their jobs to give care, while others experience increased absenteeism, lower productivity at work, lost career opportunities and loss of future earnings. In fact, a 1997 MetLife study estimated that U.S. employers lost between $11.4 billion and $29 billion dollars per year due to caregiver absenteeism or decreased productivity. A recent Iowa survey of parents of children with disabilities, meanwhile, demonstrated a significant relationship between the severity of a child's disability and the higher rate at which his or her parents, compared to other employees, were absent from work. The survey also found that the lack of available respite care appeared to interfere with parents accepting job opportunities.

Respite care, or for the purposes of this bill, short-term care in an institutional setting, can address the above issues by helping families take a break from the daily routine and stress of caregiving. A unique feature of respite care is that both the caregiver and the care recipient benefit. Care recipients can receive professional care and supportive services. Caregivers, similarly, are provided with the opportunity to better cope with the demands of giving care, minimizing the likelihood that they will feel compelled to permanently commit a loved one to a long-term care facility, thereby significantly reducing the number of inappropriate admissions to institutional facilities.

In this manner, respite care also benefits states and local communities through cost-savings. It enables individuals to remain in their homes longer, rather than being placed in hospitals or institutional care settings, which are much more expensive. For example, experts contend that delaying the institutionalization, by as little as one month, of an individual with Alzheimer's disease can result in overall savings of approximately $1.12 billion dollars a year. The American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry, meanwhile, reported in 2002 that the nations' more than 25 million family caregivers provide $257 billion annually in unpaid supportive services. Thus, respite care provides not only vital benefits for caregivers, but also cost-savings to society.

Legislative history

2007-2008: S.6895

Fiscal implications

To be determined.

Effective date

January 1, 2011 and shall expire and be deemed repealed three years after such date; provided, however, that effective immediately, the addition or amendment of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date is authorized and directed to be completed on or before such effective date.