Facts: Caregiving in the United States

Informal Caregivers in the United States

Caregivers in the United States provide long-term care and support for loved ones who have been incapacitated by accidents, illness, or terminal disease. The contributions made by caregivers are huge:

• More than 44 million individuals in the US serve as informal and unpaid caregivers. The majority of these individuals - 80% of them - are caring for someone who is related to them (NAC & AARP, 2004).
• The efforts of informal and family caregivers amount to $375 billion in 2007 (AARP 2008).

Dementia Caregivers in the United States

• It is estimated that 5.3 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease (Alzheimer's Association, 2009). The majority (70%) of these individuals live at home where they receive 75% of their care from informal caregivers (FCA, 2009).
• Caregivers for persons with dementia often bear a heavier burden as compared to other caregivers. In fact, 25% of these caregivers provide at least 40 hours a week of care for their loved one (AA & NAC, 2004).
• Furthermore, nearly 33% of dementia caregivers are also caring for children under the age of 18 in their household (AA & NAC, 2004).

Given the size of the task that they face, it may not be a surprise that these caregivers are more likely than others to pursue supportive community services and care options than do other caregivers. However, still only 56% of dementia caregivers use these supportive options (AA & NAC, 2004).

Health Care Reform and Caregivers

Health Care Reform will bring lots of changes to the services provided for home and community-based care. Among these are:

• An option in Medicaid to provide community-based attendant supports to those with disabilities.
• Provisions for financial support for community and home-based services so that people may move out of institutional care.
• Protections against spousal impoverishment for those receiving Medicaid home and community-based services .