States Seek Financial Relief for Family Caregivers

I applaud Assemblyman Patterson's proposal to consider a tax credit - it is at least a start. (I will reach you via twitter for more) As a caregiver for an elderly parent I know the challenges both personally, professionally and financially. I consider myself lucky as I have long-term health coverage for my parent however, changes are overdue in THAT system. Allowable funds pay ONLY up to $89/day & that covers maybe 4 hours, as home health care companies, on the low end charge $24/hour, and don't like to schedule fewer hours b/c it is hard to then place workers. After more than 15 years of care, I am perhaps better equipped and more aware of my parents' needs and how to respond. Yet, even if I had to leave work to care for my parent - I would NOT be allowed to use those insurance funds to cover the costs - that is INSANE. So instead I must pay a company, which takes their cut, to pay a worker (who if lucky is earning $15/hour - dog sitters earn more), whom I have to trust to care for my parent, be in MY home and have access to my life. There is something inherently WRONG with that system. This is an epidemic threatening to overwhelm so many. The costs, the emotional and relationship tolls, not to mention the impact on employment. Caregivers need more than a tax credit. We need a more varied choice of resources and relief and OPTIONS for care that fits each family. Our nation is aging - California is AGING - this issue is only going to get worse and impact more individuals.

I'm the host and producer of The Agewyz Podcast, a weekly digital radio show (www.agewyz.com) where we feature interviews with people who are actually doing the work of care -- sons, daughters, partners, spouses, etc. -- on how they cope, what they've learned caregiving and how it has affected their lives. These are not policy people, who are so far removed from the demands of caregiving that they believe a $5,000 tax credit is helpful. These are extraordinary, everyday folks who support their loved (and sometimes unloved) ones on a daily basis. As one commenter pointed out, a tax credit will do nothing for the person who has been forced to leave his/her job due to caregiving responsibilities, because this person now has no taxable income for which a tax credit might be useful. It is certainly a slap in the face to someone like Gloria Brown, profiled in this article, who has already shelled out $72K on caregivers. Policymakers: if you really want to know how caregiving is playing out in this country, turn to your colleague or friend or neighbor and ask him/her who they are caring for and find out what it's really like. Sit and listen. Accept and acknowledge that the economic value of family caregiving is $470 BILLION annually in the US (https://bit.ly/2CxUXBb) and offer up better support than a meaningless tax credit.

thanks to the Aid and Attendance pensionfor Veterans, some financial relief was possible although my brother caretaker succumbed to death six months before his 97 year old vet Dad...I never knew how hard taking care of an elder was...I put Dad in a Nursing home four weeks after my brother passed away...one that had a very low rating but the cost was an astonishing 7000 per month...I got Medicaid, with the A&A so when they did not pay for the 167.00 per day until Medicaid kicks in...cost was 30,000 until Dad passed in 4 mos. of toxic sepsis.........…...…...Dad got an extra 900 per month A&A...with his 800 social........at 96 years old..tooo bad I didn't know about this pension sooner...

Tax credits don't help people who need help the most. I am 74 and only have Social Security. I don't make enough money to pay taxes anymore, so a tax credit does me no good. I'm sure there are many other people who fall into the same category. I am the caregiver for my 68 year-old brother, who has Parkinson's. I get no help from anyone else and I'm exhausted. I never get a day off. Two years ago my sister agreed to stay with my brother while I went to San Antonio to meet my first great-grandson, who was already three. I was so worn down, I collapsed three days after I got there and had to be hospitalized. I was extremely anemic and had to have a blood transfusion. When I got home I was greeted with chaos. The house was a wreck and my brother was in a terrible state. So much for family help. I have my own health issues that make my caregiving tougher. I have several problems with my spine that cause me incredible pain, and by the end of the day I can barely walk. Due to the rules set down by the DEA, and even tougher rules here in Mississippi, I am unable to get any relief for my pain. Other than one woman, who has left for a better-paying job, the home healthcare aides have been awful. They are more trouble than they are worth. I am depressed, isolated and just plain disgusted. I wonder what I will do in the future when my body totally fails. My children ignore me, so there will be no help there. In this country, getting old is a rough row to hoe.

The lack of comments is an indication of how draining. caregiving is. The patient is too incapacitated to care. The caregiver to exhausted.

I am the President & Founder of SeniorsMatter.com, an online destination for caregivers. We publish objective information for caregivers because I found that objectivity is missing in the caregiving advice that appears online. From what type of housing is available to what kind of transportation options exist in a community, caregivers often run into information prepared by those who are selling a service or product. My experience has shown me that the information for caregivers is not only self-serving but is also very disjointed. It is not consistently delivered and is often not communicated well which adds to the level of stress on caregivers who are usually continuing to carry on full-time jobs. Caregivers are often isolated and depressed and financial support is just one way to help these unsung heroes.

A tax credit doesn't come close to what is needed for family members who are caring for a disabled child, spouse, or parent. A dear friend today shared a long article she wrote for ARC of NY on the economic obstacles she and her husband face in caring for their profoundly disabled daughter. It was both heartbreaking and infuriating. We need an overhaul of our so-called "health care" system that includes direct compensation for family caregivers and a more livable wage for direct-support workers. And for those who say "who will pay for it": It would cost the state far more if, in my friends' case, they were to place their daughter in a residential institution.

This much needed article on home based family caregiver issues posted here for about 2 days has had only 6 comments ,if this does not show how secret,unconcerned or even forbidden to talk about caregiving at home remain of seriously ill loved ones in our modern USA ,.....nothing will.

My wife and I are in the age group that will likely bring these incapacity and caregiving problems to one or both of us before long, as patient, caregiver or both. Now, while we are capable of thinking with competence, we wonder at what our quality of life for both patient and caregiver will then be, and why we should even be such a burden on the other, or on the government. We have had good lives, and we are all going to die at any rate, sometimes very badly. What we need is easy access to what I call "blissful euthanasia"; i.e. assisted to a comfortable, and even a blissful death. The necessary drugs are certainly available. Let us work on THIS solution!

Without federal tax breaks on home caregivers this State tax is meaningless. We need to commit to supporting aging at home.

My husband and I dealt with this issue, caring for my mom with Alzheimer's for 5 years and 3 months. I could only teach part time, due to caregiving responsibilities. It's a situation, emotional and financial, that I never thought we'd be in. When I thought about life's financial responsibilities, I never thought about taking care of my educated, articulate and smart mom. Any financial help would have been appreciated. I wrote a book about our travails: "My Mother Has Alzheimer's and My Dog Has Tapeworms: A Caregiver's Tale." Caregiving takes all forms, doesn't it? I was happy I was able to take care of my mom, (and dog), but my mom's situation certainly caused stress: financial and emotional. I know I mentioned those 2 specific things earlier in the post, but as any caregiver knows, it bears repeating.

A small tax credit is not enough. We need not impoverish the middle class before providing the help that is neccessary.The rich can aford help. The government helps the poor. Why are middle class people economically destroyed by catastrophic illness.

My wife has Parkinson's disease for 18 years . We have no children and family close by, I have heard horro stories from our hospital caregiver's support groups about hired caregivers and as many older folks at my age we feel we know our loved ones better. I can pick her up when she falls which is 4-7 times a day bathe her dress her assist on the toilet and i cook 24/7 then feed her and take her to numerous Drs visits and therapies. Would it were a perfect world it would be swell if all spousal and family or friends 24/7 caregivers could be paid or get tax break for the huge rate of $7.00 an hour ,this would be so helpful, by keeping out love ones safe at home and out of a facility we save the government and insurance companies more then that trivial cost doing as our Neuro-Nurse states "God's Work".

We have huge shortages of home health aides, many of whom start at entry-level wages - but our supposedly progressive leaders pander to fast food workers? What kind of nonsense is that? Not to impugn the dignity of work, but the person who's helping an 90-year-old with toileting is doing vastly more noble work than the guy making the fries. If politicians are going to go down the road of tweaking minimum wages based on the nature of a job (I'm not sure they should, but it is what it is), then put the aides at the front of the line and the fast-food workers at the back, instead of vice versa based on political considerations.

This is long past due. Medicare will pay for strangers, but not compensate family who give up everything to care for a loved one.