Millions of Ohioans are caregivers for family members or neighbors in Ohio. As Ohio AARP Executive Director Jenny Carlson put it, “That’s one in four adults … holding up our healthcare system.”

As public officials demand greater scrutiny over how Medicaid funds are used for at-home caregiving, AARP has conducted a study that shows many of the adults who are caring for aging parents and other family members are struggling financially, and nearing burnout.

“Right now, it’s reaching a breaking point,” Carlson said in an interview with Statehouse News Bureau. “We have an aging population, and so many family caregivers are stepping into that role.”

When they step into the role, 93% of them are spending their own money to provide care, meals, household items, transportation, housing, prescriptions and even home modifications. For approximately 70% of those people, being a caregiver presents a financial hardship. To top it off, approximately two-thirds of them are still working. That’s a mental health balancing act, too.

Of course, it is important to be sure public money is not being used wastefully or fraudulently. Administrators SHOULD scrutinize funding requests. But that scrutiny should not assume that an in-home, family caregiver is not as worthy of compensation as the folks with whom Medicaid is used to dealing.

“If caregivers don’t get the necessary support, the consequences are impacting us all because burnout leads to workforce loss, financial stress leads to instability, and … more people end up in costly, institutional care,” Carlson told Statehouse News Bureau.

Surely that is not policymakers’ goal.