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Mental illness has a significant impact not only on patients, but also on their carers’ capacity to work.
Aims
To estimate the costs associated with lost labour force participation due to the provision of informal care for people with mental illness in Australia, such as income loss for carers and lost tax revenue and increased welfare payments for government, from 2015 to 2030.
Method
The output data of a microsimulation model Care&WorkMOD were analysed to project the financial costs of informal care for people with mental illness, from 2015 to 2030. Care&WorkMOD is a population-representative microsimulation model of the Australian population aged between 15 and 64 years, built using the Australian Bureau of Statistics Surveys of Disability, Ageing and Carers data and the data from other population-representative microsimulation models.
Results
The total annual national loss of income for all carers due to caring for someone with mental illness was projected to rise from AU$451 million (£219.6 million) in 2015 to AU$645 million (£314 million) in 2030 in real terms. For the government, the total annual lost tax revenue was projected to rise from AU$121 million (£58.9 million) in 2015 to AU$170 million (£82.8 million) in 2030 and welfare payments to increase from AU$170 million (£82.8 million) to AU$220 million (£107 million) in 2030.
Conclusions
The costs associated with lost labour force participation due to the provision of informal care for people with mental illness are projected to increase for both carers and government, with a widening income gap between informal carers and employed non-carers, putting carers at risk of increased inequality.
Intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) influence the interactions of a person with their environment and generate economic and socioeconomic costs for the person, their family and society.
Aims
To estimate costs of lost workforce participation due to informal caring for people with intellectual disability or autism spectrum disorders by estimating lost income to individuals, lost taxation payments to federal government and increased welfare payments.
Method
We used a microsimulation model based on the Australian Bureau of Statistics' Surveys of Disability, Ageing and Carers (population surveys of people aged 15–64), and projected costs of caring from 2015 in 5-year intervals to 2030.
Results
The model estimated that informal carers of people with intellectual disability and/or ASD in Australia had aggregated lost income of AU$310 million, lost taxation of AU$100 million and increased welfare payments of AU$204 million in 2015. These are projected to increase to AU$432 million, AU$129 million and AU$254 million for income, taxation, and welfare respectively by 2030. The income gap of carers for people with intellectual disability and/or ASD is estimated to increase by 2030, meaning more financial stress for carers.
Conclusions
Informal carers of people with intellectual disability and/or ASD experience significant loss of income, leading to increased welfare payments and reduced taxation revenue for governments; these are all projected to increase. Strategic policies supporting informal carers wishing to return to work could improve the financial and psychological impact of having a family member with intellectual disability and/or ASD.
In addition to the health burden caused by mental illnesses, these
conditions contribute to economic disadvantage because of their impact on
labour force participation.
Aims
To quantify the cost of lost savings and wealth to Australians aged 45–64
who retire from the labour force early because of depression or other
mental illness.
Method
Cross-sectional analysis of the base population of Health&WealthMOD,
a microsimulation model built on data from the Australian Bureau of
Statistics' Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers and STINMOD, an
income and savings microsimulation model.
Results
People who are not part of the labour force because of depression or
other mental illness have 78% (95% CI 92.2–37.1) and 93% (95% CI
98.4–70.5) less wealth accumulated respectively, compared with people of
the same age, gender and education who are in the labour force with no
chronic health condition. People who are out of the labour force as a
result of depression or other mental illness are also more likely to have
the wealth that they do have in cash assets, rather than higher-growth
assets such as superannuation, home equity and other financial
investments.
Conclusions
This lower accumulated wealth is likely to result in lower living
standards for these individuals in the future. This will compound the
impact of their condition on their health and quality of life, and put a
large financial burden on the state as a result of the need to provide
financial assistance for these individuals.
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