Caregivers of people with serious illness are often overwhelmed and experience significant levels of stress and burden, which can directly impact their ability to provide quality support to the people in their care. Currently, most specialty palliative care teams address some caregiver needs through the team's social worker, but often these supports are not comprehensive and/or are highly dependent on individual social worker knowledge, skills, and competing priorities.

 

Whether administered by a health plan itself or through requirements for contracted palliative care teams and other providers, offering a more comprehensive and consistent additional layer of support to family caregivers has the potential to improve member outcomes. These outcomes may include reducing emergency room visits and hospitalizations, addressing medication-related issues, and ultimately, improving member satisfaction. Supported caregivers also contribute to helping members stay at home, thereby reducing the need for skilled nursing facility placement. 

 

Additionally, caregiver support programs provide the added benefit of improving outcomes for the caregiver, who might also be a member. This includes a decrease in caregiver depression and anxiety, prevention of injuries, and better management of the caregiver’s own chronic conditions. 

 

Caregiver support can manifest in various forms tailored to the specific needs of caregivers. This may include resource navigation and problem solving, emotional support and counseling, social-emotional skills training, medical skills training, respite, financial aid opportunities, and bereavement support.