Question

The value of informal long-term care provided by family members and friends is estimated at over $450 billion annually, more than double the national expenditures for skilled nursing and home care combined. Much of this cost would fall to government if it were not for this informal system. Would you support government assistance for informal caregivers, through mechanisms such as tax reduction incentives, or subsidy for respite care? Why or why not? If not, what alternative measures would you propose to help keep the informal system intact?

Answer 1

The main way in which this informal system of care can be kept intact is by education and more education.

There exists still a mojor chunk of the population that does not understand the importance that they might hold in the recovery and betterment of a loved and close one.

There is a need to formulate programs and workshops that help disseminate this vital pieces of information, which can be a government initiative.

Tax reductions would be a pseudo payment method for these services, but there is a need to make this behavior more innate than driven by material incentives.