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How does Colorado make this work? It has set up the program as a form of insurance; the premium is initially set at 0.9 percent of wages, split 50/50 between worker and employer and paid

through a payroll deduction. That means a person earning the average salary of $63,000 in Colorado would pay $5.45 per week. “The reality of this social insurance program is it helps small

businesses” because it’s a statewide pool, says Jared Make, vice president of A Better Balance, a nonprofit organization that focuses on care and family work policy issues. “It allows them

to compete with the Googles — who are offering paid leave to attract and retain talent and workers.” Make says the state laws have been “a clear success” and that Congress “should pass a

federal, comprehensive” leave program modeled on the state laws. “We’re way behind as a country,” he says, “but we’re starting to see some of the conversation shift.” CHALLENGE NO. 3: THE

HIGH FINANCIAL COST TO FAMILIES OF CAREGIVING Caregiving can be costly — for the recipient, for the caregiver, for the economy. AARP research found that more than three-quarters of family

caregivers spend their own money on caregiving. In 2021, the annual average was $7,242. Caring for someone with dementia boosts that figure to nearly $9,000. And then there’s the cost of

time. A 2019 study put the estimated economic value of unpaid caregiver work in 2017 at $470 billion. SEEKING POSITIVE CHANGE AARP is fighting for family caregivers and for all older

Americans to have access to high-quality, affordable options when it comes to long-term care – especially at home. Here are some of the ways. * FAMILY CAREGIVER TAX CREDIT AARP is pushing

for the federal Credit for Caring Act, which would provide a tax credit of up to $5,000 a year for eligible working family caregivers. The credit would apply to those who do not live with

the person they are caring for and those who care for nondependents. * PAID LEAVE AARP is fighting for workplace policies that would guarantee paid leave for family caregivers. * HOME CARE

AND COMMUNITY SERVICES AARP supports expanding Medicaid services to help more people remain in their homes. AARP is also urging Congress to make investments to expand access to Medicaid home

care and support for care workers. * BUILDING A “LONG-TERM CARE WORKFORCE” AARP urges lawmakers at the federal and state level to support efforts to increase pay and benefits for care

workers, back improved training and ensure a positive and inclusive workplace. * MORE CARE OPTIONS AARP has urged expanded care at home through Medicare, including a new option for care

after some hospital stays. * STATE-LEVEL HELP AARP State Offices across the country are fighting for family caregivers and to improve long-term care. There are other economic ripple effects

to caregiving. More than 75 percent of people age 50-plus who retired early because of family caregiving responsibilities would have stayed in the workforce longer if they had access to

better financial support or work support, a recent AARP study found. “My income took a hit,” says Eisele, the podcaster. “All my savings for retirement took a hit. You don’t set out to do

this, thinking it’s going to go on for three years.” If you’re caring for someone and trying to hold down a job, you might think of hiring in-home help. That, too, is costly. In 2021, you

could expect to pay $5,148 a month — the national median — for a private home health aide, according to Genworth, which tracks the cost of care. If the care recipient is able, a less

expensive option is to use an adult day program, with a monthly median cost of $1,690, as of 2021. Medicare in most cases does not pay for in-home care for basic services. “One of the

greatest misconceptions people have is that there will be a safety net to catch them. And there isn’t,” says Robert Espinoza, vice president of policy at PHI, an advocacy group for the

direct care workforce, which includes home health aides. Long-term care insurance policies were once thought to be a solution, but insurers found they had underestimated how much they would

have to pay in claims and had miscalculated returns on investments because of low interest rates. This prompted many companies to stop selling the policies. Today, policies are still

available, but they aren’t very popular. Only some 49,000 new policies were sold in 2020, according to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance. Cost might be one reason. A

single 55-year-old male will pay $950 annually for a premium with an initial benefit amount of $165,000. A single 55-year-old female will pay $1,500 for the same policy. “It’s a product that

is not inexpensive,” says Jesse Slome, director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance. “And there’s no sense of immediacy that you have to purchase it — unlike other

insurance. You can’t buy a house and have a mortgage without homeowner’s insurance.” He adds: “There’s a certain type of person that buys it. They can afford it and they plan. Not everybody

is a planner. And most importantly, you have to be in good health when you apply for this coverage. We have a nation that’s not in particularly good health.” Some financial help may be on

the horizon: the Credit for Caring Act, introduced in Congress in May 2021. The bipartisan, AARP-supported bill would provide up to $5,000 in federal tax credits for eligible working family

caregivers. Qualified expenses include respite care, home modifications and hiring home care aides, as well as assistive technologies and transportation. Another option can be found in

certain Medicare Advantage plans that offer coverage for more services, including home health aides to help with caregiving. In 2018, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)

expanded the scope of “primarily health related” supplemental benefits for those private plans. Now some plans may offer gym memberships, transportation to doctor’s appointments, healthier

food options and grab bars in bathrooms, and may even cover the cost for a person with chronic asthma to have their carpets deep-cleaned to help control the condition. CHALLENGE NO. 4: A

SHORTAGE OF WELL-TRAINED, RELIABLE CAREGIVERS FOR HIRE Paul McCartney famously wondered if someone would feed him when he turned 64. That question, for many older Americans, has become a

very legitimate concern. As the number of older adults increases, the demand for home health and personal care aides is projected to grow by 33 percent from 2020 to 2030, according to the

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That rate of increase is much higher than the average for all occupations. “We’ve been warning of a workforce shortage for years,” Espinoza says. According

to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2021 the mean hourly wage for home health and personal care aides was $14.07, and the mean annual wage was $29,260. In every state and the District of

Columbia, the direct care worker median wage is lower than the median wage for other occupations that have similar entry-level requirements, according to a 2020 PHI report. That includes 

janitors, retail clerks and customer service representatives. “In many states, McDonald’s and Macy’s will swoop these candidates up with easier entry points and training,” Espinoza says. “We

need to figure out the compensation piece.”