Why Family Caregivers Need a Tax Credit

An only child, Donovan lost his father decades before his mother began showing signs of dementia. When she broke a hip a few years ago at age 84, he returned home to care for her, but doctors said her mental and physical condition required nursing home care. Donovan disagreed. He plunged into a new role as a family caregiver, exhausting the $60,000 he’d saved to buy an apartment to provide care for his mother. She lived to age 89, cared for by her son in her own home, which “gave both of us great comfort,” he said. 

Lujan Grisham became a family caregiver as a child of 10, joining her family in tending to her younger sister, who had developed disabilities following surgery on a brain tumor at age 2. When told she should place the child in a health care facility, Grisham’s mother “would have none of it.” The family cared for her sister at home and “blew through the lifetime insurance cap” by the time she was 3. Her sister died at age 21. 

Thus began a lifetime of caregiving for Lujan Grisham, who also took on the task for her father until he died and now takes care of her mother. “Caregiving is a 24-hour job, and it involves the whole family,” she said. 

Raised by her grandparents, Baldwin said she unhesitatingly became her grandmother’s caregiver when the need arose. “It was my honor to give back after everything she and my grandfather had done for me,” she said, adding that she struggled to find the best resources and assistance in her community. “I was in my 30s, and I was unprepared,” she said.

Ernst discussed the enormous challenge for a rural state with a booming aging populace: It has nowhere near enough facilities to accommodate the many older residents who want to remain in their homes and communities. 

House and Senate versions of the Credit for Caring Act were introduced in May. The House bill now has 14 cosponsors from both parties, and the Senate version has eight.

AARP urges Congress to pass the Credit for Caring Act.