Help Family Caregivers by Telling Legislators to Pass the CARE Act in Massachusetts

More than 844,000 Bay State residents serve as family caregivers who provide in-home care for an aging parent or loved one, allowing that person to remain in his or her own home.

These family caregivers have a huge responsibility, and at AARP we’re committed to help lighten their load.

AARP is urging Massachusetts lawmakers to enact legislation called the CARE Act—the Caregiver Advise, Record, Enable (CARE) Act—to better support family caregivers as they safely help Massachusetts seniors stay at home.

CARE Act - OnePager - MA Sept Update for SM (pdf) recognizes the critical role family caregivers play in keeping their loved ones out of costly institutions. To that end, the bill features three important provisions:

• The hospital patient is provided with an opportunity to designate a family caregiver;
• The family caregiver is notified if the loved one is to be discharged to another facility or back home; and,
• The facility must provide an explanation and live instruction of the medical tasks – such as medication management, injections, wound care, and transfers – that the family caregiver will perform at home.

• More than half (55 percent) of family caregivers report being overwhelmed by the amount of care their family member needs.
• Nearly 4 in 10 (38 percent) family caregivers report a moderate (20 percent) to high degree (18 percent) of financial strain as a result of providing care.
• In 2014, the majority (60 percent) of family caregivers had full- or part-time jobs.
• In 2010, there were 7.2 potential family caregivers for every person age 80 and older. By 2030, that ratio will fall sharply to 4 to 1, and is projected to drop further to 3 to 1 in 2050.

Contact your state legislators today and ask them to support the CARE Act. The Senate Bill is  SB1153 and the House Bill is  HB2081 Find your state legislators here:  state representatives and  state senators.

On behalf of Bay State family caregivers, thank you!

For more information about our advocacy for the CARE Act, contact Leslie Siphers at 617-305-0510 or lsiphers@aarp.org.