Skip to content
RESEARCH

The numbers behind the work families do

The work of managing healthcare falls on patients and their families, and most of it is invisible until you are doing it. These are the numbers behind that: how many people are carrying it, how much help goes unclaimed, and what it costs when the coordination fails. Every figure below links to its source.

Who is carrying the work

Family caregiving is the largest unpaid workforce in American healthcare. Most of the people doing it never chose the role and were never shown how.

63 million Adults in the United States serving as family caregivers AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving , Caregiving in the US 2025
7.4 million Americans aged 65 and older living with Alzheimer's Alzheimer's Association , 2026 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures

Help that goes unclaimed

Programs exist for food, utilities, and healthcare costs, and large numbers of eligible older adults never enroll in them. The obstacle is usually the paperwork and not knowing the program exists, which is precisely the kind of problem an advocate is able to solve.

3 in 5 Eligible adults 50 and older not enrolled in SNAP food benefits AARP Public Policy Institute , 59 percent, 16 million people, fiscal year 2022
16% Older adults using the SNAP medical expense deduction they may qualify for National Council on Aging , NCOA analysis; the eligible share is far higher
About 1 in 5 Income-eligible households receiving federal home-energy assistance US Administration for Children and Families , Federal LIHEAP analyses; participation varies by year and state
$2,000+ Yearly value of a Medicare Savings Program to someone who qualifies National Council on Aging , Paying the Part B premium alone is worth about $2,435 in 2026

What care costs when it is not coordinated

When staying at home stops working, the costs land on families directly. These are the numbers families usually see for the first time at the worst possible moment, and they are why the work of keeping someone stable at home matters.

$6,200 Median monthly cost of an assisted living community CareScout Cost of Care Survey , 2025 survey; $74,400 a year
GET STARTED

Talk to someone who can take this on

Checking whether you qualify takes a couple of minutes. If we are not the right fit, we will tell you plainly.

Covered by Medicare. If you have a supplemental policy (Medigap) or Medicaid, your standard coinsurance may be fully covered.