Congressman wants to care for the caregivers

Congressman wants to care for the caregivers
Plan would give tax credit to those supporting elderly
By Joe Darrow
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November 06, 2008 01:49 PMThink health care costs are just too high? Imagine the burden for those supporting not only themselves and their children, but their elderly, injury-and-disease-prone parents as well.Rep. Steve Israel (D-Dix Hills) is responding to such a scenario, which he said affects some 34 million Americans, with two new bills.The first boosts funding from $166 to $250 million for the National Family Caregiver Support Program, which provides financial aid to states for programs to inform, counsel or train caregivers, and provide them with support groups and respite care, according to an Israel press release. The measure also creates a $10 million campaign to disburse long-term care information.The other bill would extend the scope of the federal dependent-care income tax credit, which can provide a family with up to $1,200 for elder care expenses. Currently, only residents providing caring for aging relatives who live in their home are eligible; Israel's measure would extend it to those supporting the care of seniors living elsewhere, a group which encompasses more than half of elder caregivers, according to the congressman."My legislation will go a long way toward providing relief, financial stability and compassionate care for parents and grandparents," Israel said.The cost of supporting senior relatives can be daunting. According to the congressman, the average price to place a relative in a private nursing home for one year averages about $134,000 in New York State, while the median cost of adult day care in this state is about $90. The AARP estimates the nationwide value of unpaid family caregiving to amount to $350 million a year, equal to the entirety of Medicare spending.Local lawmakers said Israel's federal funding boost would improve the plight of their Long Island constituents.Families are tapping into their life savings or children's college tuition fund to provide their elderly parents with costly care, said Steve Stern (D-Dix Hills), chairman of the Suffolk County Legislature's veterans and senior citizens committee. Some, like Ginnie Moore of Sayville, who spoke at the Friday press conference at the Gerwin Jewish Center in Commack, are forced to give up their jobs to care for mentally or physically incapacitated relatives if they cannot afford full-time nurse supervision.But balancing a job, a family and supervision of a relative with, for example, Alzheimer's disease, takes a toll. Such default familial caregivers "need respite and the time it takes to be able to devote to themselves and their own well-being," Stern said. "In these particularly challenging times, caregivers can't be expected to go it alone."


Valerie VanBooven RN BSNLTC Expert Publications LLCvalerie@theltcexpert.comhttp://www.MySeniorService.com877-529-0550 office800-661-0675 fax
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