ATLANTA — President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign announcement that he will propose tax breaks to ease the strain on family caregivers is welcome news to many facing that challenge.

“It’s about time that they were recognized, right?” Trump said. “They add so much to our country and are never spoken of, ever, ever, ever, but they’re going to be spoken of now.”

If it materializes it will be good news for people like Anthony Copeland-Parker of Roswell, who is the main caregiver for his wife. She was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease a decade ago at age 53.

Copeland-Parker, who is retired from UPS as a pilot and manager, pays $25 an hour for caregivers to come into their home to help care for his wife, Catherine Popp. She needs help showering, dressing, eating and needs assistance walking.

Paid caregivers come into their home about 16 hours a week, which is all they can afford. The rest of the time it falls on Copeland-Parker, 69. The couple’s adult children live out of state.

“What I’m trying to do is keep her out of a nursing home or memory care facility,” he said. “I do the best I can.” Both receive Social Security and Popp gets a small disability check, but a tax break or any financial aid would help, Copeland-Parker said.

“I’m at the max with finances,” he said.

Details of Trump’s proposal to help families like his are scarce at this point. Jason Resendez, president and CEO of the Washington, D.C.- based National Alliance for Caregiving, said that Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris both highlighted the need to provide more support for caregivers — proof that the issue crosses party lines, Resendez said.

“The challenge is to advance incremental progress on the financial issues, like tax credits, while not losing sight of large-scale investment in in-home care, paid family and medical leave and community-based support programs,” Resendez said. “We don’t want to just play around the edges.”

The National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP reported in 2020 that the number of family caregivers caring for an adult or child with special needs in the United States had reached 53 million and encompassed more than one in five Americans. The care needs can include age-related issues, severe mental or physical disabilities or long-term illnesses.

There are roughly 374,000 caregivers for people with Alzheimer’s or dementia in Georgia, and 11 million in the United States. Nationwide‚ the value of unpaid caregiving is about $346.6 billion. In Georgia, it’s about $11.4 million, according to the latest Facts & Figures report from the Alzheimer’s Association.

In the United States, 40% of family caregivers report negative financial impacts from caregiving, including going into debt themselves or having to stop saving or find more affordable housing. Many caregivers must take time off from work or not work to provide care, according to the National Alliance for Caregiving.

With new treatments coming online, the costs are “not going to go down anytime soon,” said Leslie Tripp Holland, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. People with dementia and Alzheimer’s typically have more hospital stays than other seniors, and for health insurance they must pay higher premiums and out-of-pocket expenses, some of which are not covered by Medicare or Medicaid or other forms of support, she said.

With the staggering costs of health care, “almost any kind of financial help is needed,” said Holland. “It can bankrupt a family.”

About 226,000 Georgia families are providing care for a loved one with developmental disabilities.

The waiting list for services through the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities is 7,000 names long. They are waiting for “waivers” that will qualify them for support services to continue living in the community rather than a facility.

Only Georgians with the most severe disabilities will qualify for a waiver according to a statement from Executive Director D’Arcy Robb.

Robb said the council and families welcome Trump’s interest in supporting caregivers and urge him and his team to go further into this issue, “so that all Georgians with developmental disabilities and their families have the support they need to live and thrive in their communities.”

© 2024 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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