Family support is a key driver in remaining in one's home and in the community, but it comes at substantial costs to the caregivers themselves, to their families, and to society. If family caregivers were no longer available, the economic cost to the U.S. health care and long-term services and supports (LTSS) systems would increase astronomically. This report, part of the Valuing the Invaluable series on the economic value of family caregiving, updates national and individual state estimates of the economic value of family care using the most current available data. It finds that in 2009, about 42.1 million family caregivers in the United States provided care to an adult with limitations in daily activities at any given point in time, and about 61.6 million provided care at some time during the year. The estimated economic value of their unpaid contributions was approximately $450 billion in 2009, up from an estimated $375 billion in 2007. This report also explains the contributions of caregivers, details the costs and consequences of providing family care, and provides policy recommendations to better support caregiving families.
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