CBS: Family caregivers are spending nearly $16,000 a year to care for loved ones, according to AARP research released Thursday morning at City Hall.
For a decade, Karen Katter has been looking after her 94-year-old father who has advanced dementia. Much of his care she manages remotely.
“He was diagnosed about 10 years ago and he lives in Philadelphia. I live in New York. I have a brother and sister. I do a lot of the caregiving from afar,” Katter said. “He has great home care, but it’s still tough.”
Even with insurance, the bills keep coming.
“He’s at home, which is probably the most economical, and he has long-term care insurance, but even with that, there’s a huge cost,” Katter said. “And if he was to go to an assisted living care facility, which we’re actually contemplating now, it’s astronomical. The numbers are just so incredible.”
Katter is one of the 3.9 million unpaid family caregivers in New York state, according to AARP, many of whom are averaging $16,000 a year in caregiving costs.
“You can imagine with the affordability issue being such a huge concern for older New Yorkers that this is an impact that they cannot bear alone,” said Dr. Lisa Scott-McKenzie, commissioner of the New York City Department for the Aging.
The Caregivers Couch are bright red and have popped up in front of City Hall. They are for anyone who is a caregiver willing to share their stories.
Beth Finkel, AARP’s New York state director, said Annie Stevenson King, “has been caregiving for many members of her family and her neighbors.” King also looks after her husband. They will both turn 90 in December.
“It’s very hard because if you only have Medicare, there’s so many things you cannot get,” King said. “It’s like we’re being penalized because we work, and try to be self-sufficient, and we get old and they push us aside because we don’t qualify for anything.”
AARP and the city’s Department of Aging say help is one phone call away. Free resources are available at AARP.org/NYCcaregiving, or you can call Aging Connect at 212-AGING-NYC.
