Family Caregiving Policy Suggestions from AARP

Family caregiving challenges increase as care needs for a senior increase.  As the number of seniors will greatly increase in the coming decade, many initiatives are being considered to ease the care burden for senior's family members.

The AARP Public Policy Institute has released a new paper, A Call to Action: What Experts Say Needs to Be Done to Meet the Challenges of Family Caregiving.  The paper highlights policy recommendations from an AARP Solutions Forum and summarizes 10 common themes from the work of 10 leading authors examining family caregiving.

These authors collectively call for a reexamination of policies and strategies to strengthen caregiving families.  Four areas are identified in which public policies and communities can better respond to the needs of family caregivers:

1) Greater Public Education and Awareness

2) More Financial Relief

3) Better Communication, Coordination, and Collaboration with Health Care Professionals

4) Heightened Recognition of and Support for Family Caregivers in Policy Initiatives.

Currently senior caregiving costs are paid for privately, unless a senior has very few assets and qualifies for their state's Medicaid benefits.  Medicaid does pay for ongoing stays in a nursing home and a handful of states do have home care programs through Medicaid.  However, you typically must have no more than $2,000 in assets to quailfy for Medicaid benefits.

Seniors with long-term care insurance may receive senior care in the home or in a nursing home or assisted living community.

Medicare pays for short-term stays (up to 100 days after a hospital stay) in a nursing home.  You may review the nursing home costs in your state and the nursing home ratings as you plan for senior care needs.

The complete AARP policy recommendation may be viewed here.