Research Briefs
Date of this Version
10-10-2018
Abstract
Providing unpaid care for an older parent has costs that go well beyond a caregiver’s lost wages. A new estimate suggests that the median direct and indirect costs of caregiving are $180,000 over two years, about the same as full-time institutional care. This estimate accounts for lost earnings as well as non-tangible factors, such as lost leisure time and changes to the caregiver’s well-being. It suggests that informal care cost caregivers at least $277 billion in 2011, which is 20 percent higher than estimates that only consider lost wages.
Document Type
Brief
Number
47
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License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Keywords
informal care, long-term care, caregiving
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Citation For This Study
Coe NB, Skira MM, Larson EB. Estimating a More Comprehensive Measure of the Costs of Caring for a Parent, Journal of American Geriatrics Society, September 2018. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.15552
Date Posted: 30 November 2018