From Crisis to Care: The Family Caregiving Journey
Behind every number is a story.
Behind every story, there is a call for policy change.
Data shows the scale and provides the evidence: 63 million family caregivers deliver the equivalent of the largest health care workforce in the country, valued at more than $600 billion each year.
Stories put faces and voices that show the impact: the strain on health, finances, and opportunity when caregivers go without support. Together, they build the urgency for policies that recognize and strengthen family caregivers, who are the critical foundation for the health and economic security of our nation.
Caregiving Changes
Lives
From Family Member to Medical Provider
Working, Caring, and Surviving
From Isolation to System Change
Caregiving Changes Lives
Family caregiving is hard work that takes a toll on a person’s health and wellbeing. Despite these challenges, it can create a deep sense of purpose.
Abena | Washington, DC
Michael | Roy, Utah
Policy Opportunities
Champion public investments in care infrastructure—including Older Americans Act programs and Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services—to provide family caregivers with early support in navigating their responsibilities. Implementation of the National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers at state and national levels offers a roadmap for addressing caregivers’ key challenges.
From Family Member to Medical Provider
Family caregivers often perform complex medical tasks with minimal training.
Brittany | Bishop, Georgia
Dianne | Green Bay, Wisconsin
Policy Opportunities
Transform Medicare to better support family caregivers by implementing innovative, patient- and caregiver-centered policies—from advancing new payment models and improving access to home-based services to incorporating caregiver feedback through the Inflation Reduction Act.
- Trends in Innovation: Implementing and Refining Caregiving Training Services in Medicare
- Not Just Visitors: Integrating Family Caregivers in Care Delivery and Design
- National Alliance for Caregiving Comment Letter: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program for Initial Price Applicability Year (IPAY) 2028
Working, Caring, and Surviving
Family caregiving creates cascading financial and work impacts.
Anita | Atlanta, Georgia
Derrick | Inkster, Michigan
Policy Opportunities
Expand workplace protections and financial support to help family caregivers maintain employment while providing care—from establishing federal paid family leave and caregiver tax credits to lowering the out-of-pocket costs associated with healthcare.
From Isolation to System Change
Family caregivers need immediate help and long-term systemic solutions.
Carolina | Oro Valley, Arizona
Yang | Pleasanton, California
Policy Opportunities
Build comprehensive support systems for immediate relief and lasting solutions—from expanding Lifespan Respite Care and protecting Medicaid self-direction to eliminating harmful work requirements. Strategic workforce investments and policies recognizing caregiving as essential work would transform today’s patchwork into sustainable infrastructure for the millions of family caregivers providing long-term care.
- Together in Care: Empowering Direct Care Workers and Family Caregivers to Meet Growing Demand for Care
- Policy Brief: How Medicaid Work Requirements Overlook the Labor of Family Caregiving
- Respite Care Fact Sheet
- The Family Caregiver Gap: Disparities and Missed Opportunities in Support Services Across U.S. Transplant Centers