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Caregiving for my dad, a veteran of World War II and the Korean War, for over a decade was a great joy and honor. Yet, as it is for many veteran and military caregivers, it was financially devastating for me.
The U.S. has 6.5 million veteran and military caregivers, and they provide unpaid labor valued at $14 billion a year. On average, they spend more than civilian caregivers, putting their own financial stability at risk.
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In fact, veteran family caregivers typically spend $11,500 a year of their own personal income on out-of-pocket costs for their loved ones. That’s 1.5 times higher than the average spent by family caregivers overall ($7,242), according to AARP data.
I spent even more than that when I cared for Dad, covering the mortgage, food, clothing, medications, medical equipment and other services that Medicare or the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) wouldn’t provide. I also made safety modifications to the bathroom and footed the bill for such supplemental costs as paid caregivers to help out after the monthly budget was depleted.
At the same time, I was also caregiving for my mom and my sister.
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