Suzanne Mintz
I’ve been spending quite a bit of time on Capitol Hill lately, meeting with Democratic and Republican legislators in the House and Senate, and I’m happy to report that there is definitely interest in helping family caregivers. In fact, NFCA has identified 15 bills introduced between January and April of this year that would have a positive impact on the lives of family caregivers, either because they would provide services or benefits for family caregivers directly or because they would improve care for our loved ones.
Many of these bills don’t have a chance to become law because of political or budgetary reasons; but the fact that they have been introduced represents a stake in the ground in support of caregiving families. The proposed legislation includes a tax credit for family caregivers, social security credits for those leaving the work force to care for a loved one, care coordination services for Medicare beneficiaries who have multiple chronic conditions, and more. To see a complete list of the bills and learn how they would help family caregivers, go to www.thefamilycaregiver.org and click on “Current Family Caregiving Legislation” under Latest News on the Home page.
There already are some laws that help family caregivers; the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a good example. It mandates that individuals working for companies that have at least 50 employees can take 12 weeks off to help an ill loved one. California has done one better and legislated that there must be some compensation for employees taking time off under the FMLA. The National Family Caregiver Support Program is another example of legislation that is helping family caregivers. It provides services through area agencies on aging and is the first piece of federal legislation that is targeted specifically to family caregivers. These and other actions on the state and national levels all point to a growing awareness of the needs of family caregivers and the realization that although caregiving is an issue that families deal with on a very personal level, society needs to support family caregivers and address the negative financial, emotional and physical consequences of their role.
For the promise of past initiatives to turn into expanded and ongoing programs in the future, family caregivers must become involved in the debate and speak up for what they and their loved ones need. In a representative democracy such as ours, the stories and voices of constituents make a very real difference and are often the reason some pieces of legislation actually get passed.
NFCA’s monthly e-letter includes information about proposed legislation and is a good way to stay on top of what’s happening and find out what to do if you want to see a particular piece of legislation passed. Interested? Send your name, e-mail address to communications@thefamilycaregiver.org.
