Today, there are about 48 million Americans providing long-term care for a friend, neighbor, or family member. These Americans take pride in their commitment to caring for loved ones, but for many people, the role of caregiver can be a financially difficult job.
Last year, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) delivered a report detailing over 350 actions for Congress to take that would provide relief to caregivers, including plans that would provide financial relief for caregivers. It’s now up to our elected leaders to take action, deliver on those recommendations, and support our country’s caregivers.
Nearly a quarter of Americans care for a loved one and help them with everyday activities like managing medical needs, coordinating appointments, and providing emotional support. And not only do these responsibilities require significant time and attention, but unfortunately the personal sacrifices that these caregivers make often include crippling financial hardship.
Caregivers spend hundreds of billions of dollars and billions of hours every year supporting their loved ones who are in need of long-term medical support. More often than not, caregivers are responsible for footing the medical bill for expenses including prescription drugs, medical devices, and transportation, and those costs can add up quickly. Some caregivers even have to reduce their hours at work, and some even have to leave their jobs altogether to support their loved ones. Data shows that caregivers spend 20 percent of their time and $7,200 dollars per year taking care of others. Today, over half of all caregivers report that they feel financial stress from their responsibilities.
That financial stress can often be overwhelming for caregivers, and the sacrifices they make can have long-term consequences. The financial stress facing caregivers can lead them to risk their own financial futures. Many caregivers report tapping into their own savings to afford costly medical bills and home modifications—actions that put their own retirement funds in danger. Data shows that caregivers often spend over a quarter of their own income to provide for their parents, spouses, and others, and many of them are at a breaking point.
America’s caregivers need help, and leaders in Washington can help.
Congress can and should take actions that would provide caregivers the relief that they need. Legislative proposals to provide annual tax credits to caregivers would directly aid the Americans who make up the backbone of our long-term care system and provide $600 billion in unpaid labor each year. Other policy solutions, like increasing funding to care for people with disabilities, would make long-term care more affordable and accessible and take a significant burden off caregivers.
Brian Stukes/Getty Images for SEIU Care Campaign
Proposals like these would finally recognize caregivers for their sacrifices and the important role they play, but perhaps more importantly, it would actually put money they need back in their pockets. It’s the right thing to do, and the majority of Americans agree.
So many issues are polarizing these days—but not this one. Legislation to provide relief to caregivers has overwhelming support, which isn’t surprising since more than three-quarters of Americans are, expect to be, or have been a caregiver to a loved one. Recent polls confirm that, with one survey showing that 90 percent of voters support providing caregivers with tax credits. Another poll found that, ahead of the 2024 presidential election, 70 percent of voters over the age of 50 reported that they are more likely to support a candidate who is committed to passing legislation to support family caregivers, including tax credits, paid leave, and funding for at-home care.
It’s clear that Americans across the country providing care to their loved ones are in need, and leaders in Washington have the power to give caregivers that help. Now, we need Congress to act and for leaders in the nation’s capital to give caregivers the relief that they need and deserve.
Edgar “Ned” Helms is the former founder and director of the New Hampshire Institute for Health Policy and Practice at the University of New Hampshire. Helms has a career spanning more than 30 years in New Hampshire health policy and politics, including as the commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services for New Hampshire and as chief administrative officer of Blue Cross/Blue Shield of New Hampshire.
The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.
