A pair of news articles this week have reminded us of two facts related to caregiving: the number of those providing care for loved ones is growing, and so are the emotional, physical and financial struggles they face.

Pinning down accurate statistics on just how many family caregivers there are in the U.S. is a challenge – but the fact that their ranks are growing is something all the articles seem to agree on. This week as we at the Blog focus on issues relating to caregivers, we came across two related articles from different sources that help to flesh out the picture of caregiving in America in 2025.

One analysis from HealthDay describes the rapid rise in the number of family members caring for aging loved ones at home, a trend we’ll get to in a moment. The other story this week is a recent report from ABC News that paints a picture of the stress of caregiving, not only on those who provide care but on those who receive it. The ABC News report contains several first-person accounts which we have had to edit for space, but the message is clear: the present system of unpaid caregivers serving on the front lines of health care is placing an unsustainable burden on tens of millions of Americans.

Reporter Sarah Baniak prepared the story for ABC News.

When Illness Becomes Acute, Health Care Fault Line Are Revealed

The ABC News report spotlights a 42-year-old man from Chicago named Brandon Will. He is caregiver to his mother Janice who was diagnosed in 2012 with Parkinson’s disease. The tremors and balance problems associated with the disease have put her at risk of falls, including one resulting in a broken femur that could have caused dangerous bleeding.

Janice is now 73 and requires 24/7 care. She spoke with ABC News reporter Baniak about “the emotional, physical and financial strain of needing care.” She also described how she feels like a burden to her son.

“He likes to tell me I’m not a burden,” Janice says, “but I feel like a burden because he would have been on a career in New York” if her need for care hadn’t interrupted his plans. As Janice adds, “[H]e sort of edited his dream to be different, by including me.”

For his part, Brandon reminds his mom that she is not the burden – Parkinson’s is. He has come to realize “how many systems aren’t in place” to provide support for families like his.

48 Million Caregivers with No Financial Safety Net

“Janice and Brandon’s story mirrors the struggles many Americans are forced to reckon with when a loved one falls ill,” Baniak reports.

She spoke with Susan Reinhard of AARP who gave the latest statistics on family caregiving. Reinhard told Baniak that there are an estimated 48 million people in the U.S. who are providing care to a family member. They have little to no financial help.

“There are 48 million family caregivers who are unpaid. And if you did have to pay them, it would be $600 billion. I keep emphasizing the billion dollars because it’s quite amazing. It’s more than all out-of-pocket spending in the United States on health care,” Reinhard told ABC News.

Medicaid Provides Some Support but Programs Vary by State

Baniak reports that the patchwork of policies and programs governing any type of financial support creates a hopelessly complex picture. “Reinhard said that caregivers need support to avoid a financial crisis,” Baniak explains, “saying the services many seek are provided through the state and federal program called Medicaid, but access and resources vary state by state.”

In the case of Brandon and his mother Janice, they had to move from Michigan to Illinois to be able to garner any financial aid. “In Illinois, Brandon applied through Medicaid to get paid as a familial caregiver,” the ABC News story reports. “However, he only gets paid for 19 hours a week, even though he provides around-the-clock care for his mom.” Based on this formula, his hourly rate of reimbursement is less than the state’s minimum wage.

Brandon and Janice are seeking more support, but the odds are against them, because program resources are already stretched.  “There’s like 20,000 people on the list in Illinois who are like us, who qualify for a home health aide,” Brandon told Baniak. “And they just aren’t available.”

Even Those with Resources Can’t Cover Care Costs

The ABC News report also demonstrated that, when it comes to home care, even those with steady income are slowly slipping under water financially.

In the Los Angeles area, 45-year-old Ty Lewis and her husband are caring for Ty’s mother, Gertrude Jordan. She is 80 and has dealt with Alzheimer’s disease for a decade. Lewis described for ABC’s Baniak how difficult it has been watching her mother’s slow but inexorable deterioration.

As Baniak reports, “Lewis tells ABC News her mom still receives a pension of $66,000 annually from her years of teaching –but it’s not enough.” Her care each month costs more than $6,000. Last year’s care costs came to $90,000.

“She doesn’t have it,” Lewis states. “Her savings are depleted. Currently, we are not getting any support because they keep saying my mom makes too much money. Just recently, my mom’s balance was $3.14.”

Financial Strain Aggravated by Emotional, Physical Challenges

“The financial strain cuts deep into both families,” says Baniak. “But it’s not just about the money. Each caregiver acknowledged the emotional and physical challenges they face daily — adding to the difficulties of the job.”

AARP’s Reinhard warns Americans that policy change is urgently needed. “If we do not help family caregivers, if they can no longer do what they’re doing, then we’re going to have a huge cost problem. There is definitely a care crisis in America right now,” she told Baniak.

Aging Population Means More Seniors Requiring Care

The ABC News article focused on two actual families. But what about the bigger picture? How many of our friends and neighbors are caught in the burdensome stress of caregiving?

Our second caregiving article, this one from the HealthDay website, provides some perspective. The HealthDay article, by reporter Denise Mann, shows the rising number of Americans caring for aging loved ones in a residential setting. As our population graph ages, the number needing care is climbing right along with it.

Ranks of Caregivers Shot Up by One-Third in Recent Decade

Mann begins, “A growing numbers of family members now provide care for older adults who live at home or in residential care settings, a new study shows. Their ranks increased 32 percent, from 18.2 million to 24.1 million, between 2011 and 2022, according to new research in the journal Health Affairs.”

Not only is the overall number increasing, says the research, but so it the number of hours of care required each week. In 2011, the average caregiver provided 21.4 hours of weekly care. By 2022, that figure was 50 percent higher: 31 hours per week. 

“Exactly what is driving the increase in family or unpaid caregiving is not fully understood,” Mann writes, “but researchers speculate that it may be due to a rise in the number of people who live with the folks who they assist.” We suggest it’s also related to an aging population combined with higher costs of institutional care.

Researchers Combed Two Major Studies Plus Medicare Records

For the study, which looked at Medicare data along with two major studies conducted in 2011 and 2022, researchers evaluated older adults who got help and the family or unpaid caregivers who assisted them. 

“Researchers compared changes in the number and characteristics of older adults receiving family care and the size and make-up of the older family caregiver workforce,” HealthDay explains. “They also looked at changes in family caregivers when the older adult they looked after had dementia.” 

Data shows that a large majority of unpaid caregivers in 2022 are relatives – about 88 percent. The rest identify themselves as friends or neighbors. “Compared to 2022, caregivers assisting older adults were generally younger, better educated and more likely to be male in 2011.” (One unrelated study shows a 60/40 percent female/male split among caregivers.)

Urgent Need to Address the Needs of Caregivers

Mann spoke with Jennifer Wolff of Johns Hopkins, who was involved in the study. She told HealthDay that, with the 85-plus population in the U.S. projected to triple by 2050, there is an urgent need to address disparities in caregiver experiences. Wolff urges policymakers to develop strong supports for family caregivers including paid family leave. 

Expansion of Medicaid to pay for care at home would also alleviate caregiver stress and lessen the financial impact of caring for loved ones as they age, Wollf points out.

“Family caregivers are critical to our care-delivery system,” Wolff concludes. “Looking ahead, we must identify and support their needs to ensure they can continue providing the critical support that millions of older adults rely on.” 

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(originally reported at https://abcnews.go.com)