7 things every family caregiver should know – but many don’t

If you clicked to read this story, or someone sent it to you, congratulations: You’re a caregiver.

Even if you might not think of yourself as one.

That means you’re doing the important, and probably unpaid, work of helping another adult take care of their daily needs and medical conditions, navigate life with a disability, or get through a health crisis.

You might live with them, or miles away. You might spend a few hours a month taking care of them, or several hours a day.

You might help with many tasks or assist in specific ways.

You might help multiple adults, or you may be raising children at the same time.

But no matter what your caregiver role is, you may not know about all the resources and services available to you and the person you take care of.

It’s not always easy to find these programs, especially when you’re busy providing care.

But they can make a big difference in the time, money and worry you spend on caregiving, as well as improve your loved one’s ability to live with dignity and independence.

They can also reduce your risk of caregiver burnout.

More than 60 million Americans qualify as caregivers.

In fact, 26% of people over 50 provided regular or ongoing care to at least one adult with health or disability needs in the past year, according to data gathered early this year by the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging, or NPHA.

But the poll has repeatedly found that older adults and their caregivers need more information about or connections to programs in their area.

“After nine years of polling people age 50 and over, we’ve noticed a pattern: many people just don’t know what’s out there to help older adults and their caregivers,” said Erica Solway, Ph.D., M.S.W., M.P.H., the poll’s deputy director and a specialist in aging-related social services.

“With the federal Older Americans Act that funds many of these services up for reauthorization, and aging- and caregiver-related policies being discussed at the state and federal levels, making up-to-date and trustworthy information easy to find is critical.”

She and her colleagues put together these key tips, together with some new data from recent polls.

7 caregiver tips to know

1. No matter where you live, there’s a “front door” for finding help

You may not know its name, or exactly what it does, but there’s already an organization in your area that can help caregivers to older adults and people with disabilities.

It’s called an Area Agency on Aging, or AAA for short, and it receives funding from the federal government.

AAAs exist all over the country. Some serve a city or a few counties, others cover broad areas.

“Your AAA is a front door to services in your area, from food and transportation help to in-home assistance and caregiver support programs,” Solway said.

“It may run some programs directly, or it may provide information about programs that other local organizations offer.”

Its staff can provide information on the age ranges, income levels and other criteria for each program.

You can find your local AAA on the Eldercare Locator. Or call 1-800-677-1116 or start a webchat session between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. Eastern time Monday through Friday. Or email [email protected].

For Michigan-based caregivers, the state’s AAAs created a dedicated website called MI Caregiver Connection to make it easy to find resources.

Despite AAAs being available across the country, 63% of Americans age 50 and over have never heard of them, and another 30% have heard of them but not used them, according to NPHA data from September 2025.

Just 7% said they had used AAA services.

Caregivers were more likely than non-caregivers to have heard of AAAs.

But more than half (56%) of caregivers hadn’t heard of AAAs and only 11% had used one, despite the helpful support that AAAs can provide to caregivers.

Michiganders over 50 were more likely than people in other states to have heard of or used AAAs (48% vs. 36%), with Michigan caregivers more likely than caregivers in other states to have heard of or used one (59% vs. 44%).

Once you’ve found your AAA, bookmark its website, follow its social media pages, and join its email list, to stay up to date on what it has to offer.

You may also want to use the Benefits Checkup tool from the National Council on Aging to see which programs the person you care for might qualify for, based on location, age, income, health and disability status and more.

2. Insurance coverage matters; free help is available

If a person has a health condition or disability serious enough to warrant caregiver support, it can really make a difference what kind of health insurance plan they have.

Monthly premium costs, co-pays, plan-specific networks of doctors and hospitals, and coverage for specific drugs and services can vary a lot between plans.

People over age 65 and people with major disabilities often get their insurance from Medicare or Medicaid, or both, or from the Veterans Health Administration if they served in the military.

Some people may qualify for special programs but not realize it.

If the person you care for has Medicare, they can change their plan once a year during the Open Enrollment period from October 15 to December 7, with changes taking effect the following January.

There may be a lot of options depending on where they live, and it can get very confusing.

The biggest decision is whether to go with traditional Medicare run by the federal government, or a Medicare Advantage plan run by an insurance company.

Even traditional Medicare comes with choices for prescription drug plans and “Medigap” add-on plans.

Medicare’s own website offers ways to explore options available to each person, including comparing the cost for specific drugs under different Part D prescription plans.

Information about the options and costs for plans for the next year is published around mid-September.

Some people seek guidance from insurance brokers, but keep in mind that they make money based on which plan their clients choose.

If you want impartial advice, it’s available from the counselors at your State Health Insurance Assistance Program, or SHIP.

The service is free, funded by your state and the federal Medicare program, and provided by staff and trained volunteers.

But NPHA data show that 69% of people over 65 aren’t familiar with SHIP.

Find the SHIP program for your state at www.shiphelp.org.

When you meet with a SHIP counselor, have a list of the prescription drugs that the person you care for takes, the doctors and hospitals they trust most, and any specialty care they’ve received.

If the person you care for is over 55 and living at home but ill, disabled or frail enough to meet criteria for nursing home care, you might want to see if there is a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly program in your area.

If they qualify, it covers a wide range of health and support services and is designed to enable them to keep living at home.

For Michiganders:

In Michigan, the new MI Options program offers even more help beyond Medicare choices.

It connects older adults, people with disabilities, and caregivers with trained counselors who work for the state.

MI Options staff can advise not only on Medicare but also on other types of programs that a person might be eligible for, including home-based services that can potentially help someone avoid a nursing home.

The MI Options program launched in summer 2025.

New data from the NPHA shows that by early 2026, just 18% of Michiganders age 50 and older had heard of it or used it.

About 10% of Michigan caregivers over 50 said they had used the MI Options service, and another 17% of caregivers had heard of it.

But 73% of Michigan caregivers said they had not heard of it as of early 2026.

MI Options can be reached by calling 1-800-803-7174 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Monday through Friday.

3. Make sure your loved one has their wishes in writing

The person you provide care for may be related to you, or not.

But depending on your exact relationship to them, and their condition, the legal system may not recognize your role without written forms.

That means health care providers may not be able to allow you to help make decisions about their care if they have a health crisis and can’t make their own decisions.

If your loved one wants you to be involved in their health care, they can make that legally known using freely available documents.

In fact, everyone should fill these out, no matter what their health or disability status.

These planning documents are called advance directives.

The most common one for health care use is called a durable power of attorney, or DPOA, for health care form.

It includes a place to designate a Patient Advocate.

That’s the person officially enabled to make medical decisions for another person if they’re unable to do so for themselves temporarily or permanently.

But only 27% of people over 50 have completed one, according to NPHA poll data from August 2024.

After nine years of polling people age 50 and over, we’ve noticed a pattern: many people just don’t know what’s out there to help older adults and their caregivers."

Erica Solway, Ph.D., M.S.W., M.P.H.

Michigan Medicine offers a free booklet to walk you through the process, with forms you can print that conform to Michigan law.

It’s available in English, Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French and Russian.

The CaringInfo organization offers forms for other states, and many hospitals also offer them.

Once filled out, make sure the form is added to a person’s electronic health record, said Jeffrey Kullgren, M.D., M.P.H., M.S., director of the NPHA and an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at the U-M Medical School and a primary care physician at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System.

The staff at a doctor’s office can help, or you can upload it directly to a patient portal. Keep a printed copy in an easy-to-find place in the person’s home too.

There are also other legal forms, including a financial power of attorney, and more complicated ones for guardianship or conservatorship when a person is permanently unable to care for themselves or make decisions.

The State of Michigan now offers a financial power of attorney form that can be saved, filled out on a computer, and printed for signing. For more information and referrals to local help, the Family Caregiver Alliance and National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys can be good resources for finding services and professionals.

4. Have the person you care for involve you in their health care, even if you live far away

When caregivers go to a person’s health care appointments, they can ask questions, take notes, and then help the person follow the health care provider’s instructions for prescriptions, self-care regimens, follow up tests and appointments and more.

In fact, 69% of caregivers say they have attended at least one medical appointment of the person they care for, and 76% of them said the health care providers included them in ways that helped them support the person they care for.

That’s according to NPHA data from January 2026.

Another NPHA poll conducted in February 2025 found that 92% of people over age 50 who had another adult accompany them to an appointment agreed that having someone else there was helpful.

If you live in a different place from the person you provide care for, or you can’t make it to a specific appointment in person, you can ask to have them start a video or audio call with you on the phone once they are in their in-person appointment.

That way, you can hear what’s being said, ask questions, and take notes.

The patient should tell the health care provider they are doing this.

If the person you’re caring for has a telehealth appointment and you’re not in the same place as them, you can ask them to share the video call link with you once the appointment has begun.

As long as the patient says it is OK for someone else to be on the telehealth appointment, it is allowed.

Patient portal accounts can be another important part of caregiving and supporting the person with their health care needs.

The person you care for should have their own account on the patient portal for every health care provider’s office, hospital or health system they go to, so they can see their records and appointments, send and receive messages, and more.

But as their caregiver, you can get permission to have “proxy” access, with your own login name and password.

A U-M NPHA poll from July 2022 found that only 12% of people over 50 who helped other adults with health care tasks had set up this kind of access.

Don’t be afraid to contact the help desk at your hospital or health system to guide you through this process!

5. “Aging in place” is what most people want – and you can help them prepare

The vast majority (84%) of people over 65 say it’s likely they’ll live in their current home for the rest of their life, but only 46% have taken steps to “age in place,” according to NPHA data from February 2025.

If the person you provide care for lives in a house, condo or apartment that’s not optimized for aging or living with a disability, adding grab bars in showers, railings on porch steps, or a ramp on one exterior entrance can make a big difference.

To make these changes, you can seek help from multiple sources.

Start with your Area Agency on Aging, which may offer home modification programs or know of other programs in your area.

They will also know if your state, county or city have programs that might be able to help; such programs often aim to reduce the risk that someone will need nursing home care.

The United Way’s 211 service in your area could also be a good place to start – call 211 from any phone or visit their national Caregiver page.

For those who own their homes, investing in making modifications now can help preserve the ability to live at home as long as possible. Your region’s Center for Independent Living, a federally funded organization focused on the needs of people with disabilities, can often help. (If you’re in Michigan, find yours here.)

As you assess options, you may want to look for professionals who have completed training as Certified Aging-in-Place Specialists (CAPS) through AARP.

There are also professionals who specialize in conducting home safety assessments and pointing out opportunities to reduce risk of falls.

Ask your Area Agency on Aging if they can recommend some.

6. Caregivers need breaks – and there are programs to help

If the person you care for has Alzheimer’s disease, another form of dementia, a cognitive disability, a movement disorder such as Parkinson’s disease, or other major health or disability-related needs, being their caregiver can demand a lot of your time, attention and energy.

For many, it can feel like a full-time job, or a second job on top of working for pay, parenting, or both.

And few family caregivers qualify for any sort of payment or tax credit for the time and money they spend on caregiving, though some states and the Veterans Health Administration offer this financial support in some cases.

But caregivers aren’t superhuman.

And if you keep going without a break, a vacation, or time to tend to your own needs or self-care, you could burn out.

Which wouldn’t help you or the person you’re caring for.

That’s why adult day care programs, respite care programs, and other programs to support caregivers have become increasingly common.

Many of them cost money, but financial support may be available based on income.

Yet U-M poll data show that most caregivers have not used these programs or heard of them.

Only 9% of caregivers said the person they cared for had used an adult day program, where a caregiver can bring their relative or friend to take part in supervised, structured activities for a few hours to a full day.

And only 11% of all caregivers had used any form of respite, which provides a “break” from caregiving through a paid or unpaid helper coming to the home, a short-term stay in a residential facility, or an emergency respite (for example if a caregiver has a sudden health issue).

Find out what’s available in your area through your Area Agency on Aging, your local senior center, or the National Respite Locator Service run by the ARCH National Respite Network. If you’re in Michigan, the Mi Caregiver Connection site has a respite and adult day center page.

7. Be a savvy Internet surfer when looking for caregiving information

With millions of people looking for caregiving and health information and help, there are a lot of businesses and scammers competing for your clicks, follows, likes, email signups and dollars.

Search engines increasingly use artificial intelligence to summarize results, even though NPHA data show that 74% of people over 50 have little to no trust in health information generated by AI.

Meanwhile, the government agencies and nonprofit organizations that can offer trustworthy information may not have the money or marketing dollars to compete against them. They may not be as visible in Internet searches and on social media.

Being a caregiver takes a lot of time, and you don’t have time to waste hunting around and trying to figure out what information to trust.

Here are some websites run by caregiving organizations that offer good information:  

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