Vice President Kamala Harris’s proposal to expand Medicare to cover long-term home care highlights a growing national challenge on how we care for a rapidly aging population. Seniors are the fastest-growing age demographic globally, yet entrepreneurs and investors consistently overlook their needs even as government programs like Medicare are being reconsidered to address them.

This oversight has led the tech industry to miss significant market opportunities and the chance to offer solutions that national policy alone cannot resolve. The United Nations projects the global population of people 65 and older to double to 1.6 billion by 2050.

Addressing the growing needs of our aging population will require government action and private-sector innovation — much like other significant societal challenges such as climate change. There’s no single answer to this complex issue, but increasing our investment and focus on new remote care technologies will help enhance the effect of government programs by easing the caregiving burden and improving care.

Beyond the expanding senior population, what’s often overlooked is the profound effect on their caregivers, typically unpaid family members. These individuals frequently struggle to balance their caregiving responsibilities with work and personal lives, leading to stress, burnout and financial strain. The urgency of this situation becomes more apparent when we consider the declining “caregiver support ratio.”

According to the AARP Public Policy Institute, in 2010, every American over 80 who needed care had seven potential family caregivers. By 2030, they will have only three. This looming crisis in caregiving capacity makes the case for investment in senior tech even more compelling for seniors and the people who care for them.

As policymakers begin to address these challenges, we must encourage technological innovation — seniors and the people who care for them — to complement and enhance new policy initiatives.

While Harris’s Medicare proposal is a step forward, solving the aging population’s challenges requires blending policy with tech-driven solutions to make remote care more affordable and effective. By developing solutions that enhance seniors’ independence and well-being, we can simultaneously improve the lives of seniors and ease the burden on their family caregivers.

New technologies already allow family members to monitor their loved one’s health and safety remotely, and we’re beginning to see AI-powered systems that can detect health issues before they escalate. This includes home systems that analyze a senior’s gait to predict and prevent falls before they happen and wearable devices that can monitor vital signs and alert caregivers to potential issues in real time. This type of preventive remote care helps eliminate and reduce costly interventions that come too late, potentially saving billions in healthcare costs.

The market potential for senior-first technology is enormous and growing rapidly. By 2030, all baby boomers will be over 65, representing 21 percent of the U.S. population. This demographic shift, coupled with increasing life expectancies and a declining number of caregivers, creates a massive and long-lasting gap to be addressed. New solutions that support caregivers — such as remote care technologies — can help reduce the hours needed from a home health aide, avoid costly emergency room visits, or delay the need for assisted living, resulting in significant savings.

As policymakers like Harris recognize the growing crisis, the tech industry has an opportunity to complement these federal efforts with innovative products.

However, the current level of attention given to this field is woefully inadequate, given the scale of our challenges. Government proposals, while essential, are only part of the equation. True relief will come when we see a comprehensive investment in senior-first technology from the private sector — solutions that ease the financial and lifestyle burdens of caregiving for millions of families.

By raising the investment in this underserved market, we can improve the lives of seniors, support their caregivers, and create sustainable, impactful businesses. However, we must move quickly before the caregiving crisis becomes unmanageable.

Ashish D. Aggarwal is co-founder and CEO at JubileeTV. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.