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Policy Digest
March 1997
Caring for the Elderly	More Americans are spending their time caring for older relatives or friends, according to a new survey jointly sponsored by the American Association of Retired Persons, the National Alliance for Caregiving and Glaxo Wellcome. Almost one-fourth of American households -- 22.4 million families -- are providing informal, unpaid care for an older person. That represents more than a threefold increase from 7 million caregivers found in a similar survey 10 years ago. The average caregiver provides 18 hours of assistance per week -- with more than 4 million households providing at least 40 hours and another 1.6 million, 20 to 40 hours a week. Families involved in caregiving spend about $2 billion per month of their own money and 64 percent are employed full or part time. While many of the aging are still healthy, their overall numbers are increasing and those near the end of their life need more care. Source: Karen S. Peterson, "More Spend Time Caring for Elderly," USA Today, March 18, 1997. For more on Health Care go to http://www.ncpa.org/pi/health/hedex1.html