Costs are soaring for people who care for their older parents and other family members, according to a new study.<\/p>\n
Out-of-pocket expenses are nearly 60% higher than they were just five years ago for family caregivers, who now spend an average of $11,508 a year on caregiving, according to a report released this week by AARP, a nonprofit that advocates for people aged 50 and older.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether they\u2019re paying for groceries, housing or medical care, family caregivers are marking a significant financial commitment that can affect their own economic security,\u201d said Debra Whitman, AARP executive vice president and chief public policy officer, in a statement.<\/p>\n
Across the U.S., 63 million people care for family members, preparing meals, managing medications, attending medical appointments and performing other daily tasks for their loved ones. The report found a 50% increase in the number of adults providing such care over the past decade.<\/p>\n
Family caregivers provide about $1 trillion in mostly unpaid labor each year, the AARP reports.<\/p>\n
They also spend thousands out of their own pockets: That $11,508 in annual caregiving spending eats up 31% of the average household income.<\/p>\n
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And the burden is much heavier on low-income families. Caregivers with annual household incomes under $40,000 spend an average of 76% of their household income on caregiving, according to the report. At the other end of the economic spectrum, those with incomes above $85,000 a year spend between 9% and 19% on caregiving.<\/p>\n
Most of those caregiving dollars go toward housing and medical care, the report found. More than a third of the money spent on medical care goes toward insurance premiums, copays and direct payments to providers.<\/p>\n
Those caring for someone living with Alzheimer\u2019s disease or another form of dementia spend more \u2014 an average of $15,846 annually.<\/p>\n
Nearly two-thirds of working caregivers reported experiencing at least one work-related disruption because of caregiving, such as having to alter work hours or take time off for caregiving responsibilities.<\/p>\n
Caregiving costs also vary depending on where a person lives. Caregivers who live in states such as New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania spend the most, an average of $15,845 per year. That\u2019s nearly twice what those who live in midwestern states such as Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota and Missouri, who spend $7,955.<\/p>\n
The costs also vary by race and ethnicity. Asian American and Pacific Islander caregivers report the highest average spending at $16,716 (31% of average household income). Black caregivers spend an average of $13,565 annually \u2013 52% of their household income, the highest percentage of any group. Hispanic and Latino caregivers spend an average of $10,684 per year (29%), and white caregivers reported the lowest average spending, at $9,806 per year (24%).<\/p>\n
The report\u2019s authors recommend policy changes including tax credits, grants, paid leave for working caregivers, expanded home care options and help navigating the health care system.<\/p>\n
This story was distributed by Tribune News Service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Costs are soaring for people who care for their older parents and other family members, according to a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":663100,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[163,521,85,46,225],"class_list":["post-663099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-national-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=663099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663099\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/663100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=663099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=663099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=663099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}