Costs of Caregiving

Last week we ran a post on caregiving and the baby boomers (yes, them again).  The New York Times ran an article by Ann Carrns on August 28, 2013 on Assessing the Costs of Caring for an Aging Relative.  This article reports on the costs of caring for an older relative, noting the short and long-term impact of doing so.  Typically the caregiver “is a 49-year-old woman who works outside the home and spends almost 20 hours a week providing  unpaid care to her mother for nearly five years…”, citing to a study from AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving.  The story discusses a 2011 study that was done by the Alliance and MetLife. The article suggests that family caregivers need to know the sources of payment for in home care.

For some time, AARP has been studying the value of family caregiving.  There is a 2011 Update by Lynn Feinberg, Susan C. Reinhard, Ari Houser and Rita Choula: Valuing the Invaluable: 2011 Update The Growing Contributions and Costs of Family Caregiving The summary before the report notes that in 2009, the uncompensated value was about $450 billion (yes that’s right BILLION). In fact, AARP provides a Caregiving Resource Center on its website. Lynn Feinberg, one of the authors of the report also wrote Keeping Up With the Times: Supporting Family Caregivers with Workplace Leave Policies, released in June of 2013.

Becky Morgan