Mom and Dad need help. Maybe not today, but soon. Perhaps they’ll be fine. It could be your husband or your wife or your child who will come to depend on a member of America’s largest workforce — America’s largest unpaid workforce.

What if there’s no one there to respond when they need help? This requires a national discussion.

America’s family caregiving crisis will be a significant topic when we convene our What’s Next #LongevitInnovation Summit, December 16-17, 2025, in Washington, D.C.

According to the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, nearly half of America’s states are on the brink of a caregiving emergency, with the worst conditions being found in the South.

What can be done?

Currently, 44.58 million U.S. family caregivers provide the equivalent of $873.5 billion worth of labor. This figure was reported in the Columbia University study, “The State of Family Caregiving: America’s Unseen Workforce.”

Beyond cost, there is a tremendous impact on caregiver health and well-being. Due to reallocating funds to caregiving expenses and forgoing essential retirement contributions, caregivers who begin their duties at a younger age are at risk of facing a 90% deficit in retirement savings by age 65 compared to non-caregivers. This would require up to an additional 21 years of work to recover the equivalent savings. This is especially important given that 61% of caregivers are juggling careers and home life.

It’s not just financial resources that suffer. The study found declines in caregiver health contribute an estimated $28.3 billion annually to healthcare costs. With the growing aging population, new cases of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia are projected to increase.

There will be more caregiving to perform and increasing stress on unpaid family caregivers as they navigate healthcare, manage home-related tasks, and provide continuous monitoring for their loved ones.

Half of family caregivers are caring for an aging loved one alone, according to a report from AARP. Solo caregivers are feeling overwhelmed, isolated, and even resentful as they juggle the physical, emotional, and financial demands of caregiving.

The administration and its partners in Congress are determined to slash resources that support family caregivers, such as Medicaid.

Eventually, almost all of us will come to depend on a caregiver — a family member, a paid worker in our home, or an assisted-living situation.

There may not be someone there to help. We must resolve this crisis, starting now.

#Caregiving #CareIsInfrastructure #ProtectMedicaid #LongevityInnovation