HealthBridge's In-Home Care Blog

Caregivers care about results. 

"Don't give the me the recipe, let me taste the pie," a client once told me.  

That's why, on this blog, we refrain from covering the back and forth volley of health care politics.  

But, from time to time, we'll dive into an issue that surprised us or has our clients all atwitter.

Earlier this week, President Obama released his Fiscal Year 2011 Budget to Congress.  In it is something called the Caregiver Initiative.  Since this piece of the budget isn't getting much press, we wanted to share it with you here. 

Here's what it includes:

• $50 million more for the National Family Caregiver Support Program, which through area agencies on aging, provides families support, information, counseling and respite help.
  
  
• $2.5 million more for Lifespan Respite Care program, which doubles its financing.  This program, which is available to caregivers of disabled family members no matter their age, provides for brief periods of home care or facility stays to allow the caregivers a break to recharge and regroup.    
  
  
• An additional $50 million for the Home and Community Based Services program, which uses area agencies on aging to provide adult day programs, home care and transportation services.  

Some senior care advocates love the measures.  As Elinor Ginzler or AARP says, "Approximately 65 million Americans provide care to a loved one, giving more than $375 billion worth of unpaid care each year—often at their own financial and emotional expense.  Increasing support to these invaluable individuals would be an important step to help those who do so much to help others."

Howard Gleckman, Senior Research Associate at the Urban Institute disagrees.  "President Barack Obama wants to increase funding for a government program intended to make it easier for family caregivers to get respite care. These hard-pressed families desperately need the helping hand. But the White House initiative is a symptom of all that is wrong with long-term-care policy in the U.S."

What do you think?

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