Emerging Challenges in Long-Term Care and Caregiving
The number of Americans over age 80 is projected to double over the next 20 years, exceeding 29 million by 2045. The demand for formal long-term care and informal caregiving is increasing in lockstep with our lifespans, placing great strain on families, health care systems, and insurers. These pressures are especially pronounced among households affected by Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, as patients with cognitive decline often require expensive memory care or round-the-clock family support.
To understand the overall care burden, interactions between formal and informal care, and policy effects, the NBER Center for Aging and Health Research is planning a conference on emerging challenges in long-term care and caregiving. The conference, which is made possible with support from the National Institute of Aging, will be organized by Brian McGarry (University of Rochester and NBER) and Corina Mommaerts (University of Wisconsin, Madison and NBER). It will be held in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Friday, October 2, 2026. Kate McEvoy, executive director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors, will deliver keynote remarks.
The meeting will focus on several factors, including Medicaid and Medicare policy, household characteristics that affect care utilization, the ways in which different diseases affect caregiving needs, labor market policy, and immigration policy.
The organizers welcome submissions on any subject related to long-term care and informal caregiving. Submissions that use novel data sources are of particular interest. They hope to include perspectives from economics as well as other disciplines such as sociology, public health, and medicine. All researchers, including those who are not NBER affiliates and who are early in their careers, are welcome to submit papers. Topics of particular interest include:
- Innovative models for supporting informal caregivers
- Alternatives to nursing home care, including assisted living facilities or home- and community-based services
- Expanded Medicaid funding for home- and community-based services
- Approaches to improving the quality and reducing the cost of formal care, including innovative payment models
- Long-term care insurance
- Unique challenges faced by patients living with dementia and their families
- Cross-national differences in approaches to long-term care
- Novel data, including the measurement of informal care and administrative linkages
To be considered for presentation, submit papers or extended abstracts by 11:59pm ET on Friday, July 31, 2026.
Authors chosen to present papers will be notified by late August 2026.
The NBER will cover hotel and economy-class travel for up to two authors of each paper that is selected for presentation.
Please share this call with others who may be interested in submitting a paper. Logistical questions about this meeting should be directed to confer@nber.org; other questions about the meeting content should be directed to Sarah Holmes Berk at sholmes@nber.org.