Forbes: caregiving costs employers $1,000 monthly
- Forbes reported April 28 that Cleo Chief Executive Madhavi Vemireddy says employers often misread caregiving strain as poor performance, then pay through leave and resignations. - Cleo’s 2025 claims analysis found high-risk caregivers averaged about $1,000 a month in medical costs, versus $600 for lower-risk members. - Harvard and Cleo data show caregiving is widespread and often hidden at work. (news.harvard.edu)
Caregiving is hitting employers as a health and labor cost, even when it never appears as a formal diagnosis. (forbes.com) In Forbes, Cleo Chief Executive Madhavi Vemireddy said managers often see missed deadlines and distraction first, while the underlying issue is an employee caring for family members without support. (forbes.com) The cost shows up in claims and productivity data. Cleo said high-risk caregivers in its 2025 healthcare claims analysis averaged about $1,000 per member per month in medical spending, versus about $600 for lower-risk members. (hicleo.com 1) (hicleo.com 2) Cleo’s 2026 Family Health Index, based on more than 19,200 assessments, found 64% of working women in the sandwich generation were at a breaking point. The company said that group faces rising mental health strain, productivity loss, and attrition. (hicleo.com) The issue is often hidden from employers. Forbes reported that only about half of caregivers tell their managers about their responsibilities, and Vemireddy said it can take about eight years before they seek treatment. (forbes.com) The health burden extends beyond stress. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as cited by Forbes, tracks higher rates of poorer health for caregivers across 13 of 19 conditions, including obesity, arthritis, and hypertension. (forbes.com) Employers are also confronting a scale problem. Forbes said nearly three-quarters of employees have some caregiving responsibility, while Harvard Business School research cited by the Harvard Gazette said well over half of workers report a caregiving obligation. (forbes.com) (news.harvard.edu) Harvard’s Joseph Fuller said care-related issues are the single most common reason employees leave the workforce. He said rigid schedules and employer rules can turn ordinary family needs into missed shifts, reduced hours, and exits from work. (news.harvard.edu) For employers, the problem is less a single claim line than a chain of absences, delayed care, burnout, and turnover. The companies that count caregiving only after performance drops are already paying for it. (forbes.com)
