The Boomer Safety Bundle for the Approaching Wave of 80-year-olds. January 2026 is just around the corner. And so will begin the wave of 73 million baby boomers turning 80 over the next 20 years. Maybe they are all in great shape! Not according to a Johns Hopkins researcher: only 25% are ‘robust and active’. 'The rest are a mix of frail and vulnerable, slowed down by health issues.' And many in their 80s and 90s will be aging in place alone – projected by a Harvard study to exceed 10 million. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) just put out a request for tech ecosystem recommendations – clear understanding that the future for health tech for older adults will be required – and even (!) interoperable. The pace of making all of this happen clearly needs to accelerate. Read more.
Making the Case for Hybrid Care in the Home. The aging population has significant implications. Consider a few assumptions: Average life expectancy at 65 is mid-80’s, though many will live into their 90s. Older adults want to remain in their home as long as possible. A quarter of men aged 75+ and 43% of women live alone. Reports indicate that 46% of those aged 75+ have a disability. It’s not much of a stretch to imagine that as many as half will need some kind of care assistance in their home at some point. It is also likely that most people will not be able to afford 24x7 home care. But even if they could afford it, there is a severe home care worker shortage that is likely to worsen over the coming years as baby boomers enter their 80s. Read more.
Years ago, tech for older adults became a unique category – is it still? Today most older adults want to use all consumer technology, aka AllTech. Why? Because their families and peers do so, for one, and second, (or maybe first), they do not consider themselves old. A puzzle framework evolved over the years that can encompass ‘AllTech’ but adds supportive tech for those with specific limitations like hearing loss, as well as many other enabling technologies for vision limitations, fall prevention/detection, mobility and transportation needs. The categories of technology have been supercharged as the world of cameras, voice technology, motion sensors, and most recently the addition of machine learning and other AI tools that represent the next generation of utility for older adults. Today, these capabilities are all the more useful -- as life expectancy at 65 extends well into the 80’s for both men and women (see Market Overview Technology for Aging 2025). Read more.
Future of AI in Home Care – New Report. Future staffing demand will force industry to rethink care strategies. According to BLS, the industry will need 4.5 million care workers by 2029 to meet the demands of older adults. According to an Argentum staffing report, in 2025 alone another 347,000 caregivers are needed for memory care. The home care and senior living industries draw from the same population of prospective workers. Home care and home health care demand will drive 21% job growth by 2033, but 59% of agencies will experience shortages. What else will help address care needs? Read more.
Five Observations from The Future of AI in Home Care Research. Executives see the possibilities for AI in home care. Home care and home health care are labor intensive industries. Hands-on work is historically preceded and followed by paper-based documents and tracking tools. However, it is increasingly likely that home care companies will move quickly past ‘Year One’ of AI as the labor-saving benefits are seen and realized. Interviewees, including agencies and tech firms, note the changes underway. Some are engaged in various pilot projects of AI-enabled tools, others are doing implementations, still others are already deployed. For example, report discussions surfaced the following. Read more.
Five Tech and Aging Products from 2025 Market Overview. An increasingly tech-oriented society makes older adult tech adoption critical. While many information-based offerings are now AI-enabled, many other capabilities like wearables and sensors, can offer safety features or be enablers for those with physical challenges -- including mobility and hearing. In addition, for those who are most comfortable interacting with a smart TV, there are new solutions that make the TV a more effective device, improve walking, or enable greater safety when out and about. Here are five first-time entrants in this year’s report that fit that category – all content directly from the companies. Read more.
