BALTIMORE – Nearly one in four Maryland adults now serves as an unpaid caregiver for an older parent, spouse or loved one, according to a new report released by AARP Maryland.
The study estimates 1.2 million state residents provide caregiving services, representing about 24 percent of Maryland’s adult population. That marks an increase from 2015, when the figure stood at 18 percent.
Most caregivers assist with transportation, grocery shopping, housework, meal preparation and medication management. Many also handle complex medical tasks such as wound care or managing multiple prescriptions.
George Kueppers, senior research manager with the National Alliance for Caregiving, said the demands create significant strain.
“Most of them come from the fact that they’re juggling multiple roles at once,” Kueppers said. “Parent, employee, spouse, as well as being a caregiver. Caregiving can be exhausting. People often deal with chronic stress, lack of sleep, feelings of burnout. It can be emotionally difficult to watch a loved one decline or deal with a health care issue.”
Financial pressure compounds the challenge. The report found nearly 40 percent of Maryland caregivers take on debt, deplete savings or struggle to pay for food and medicine while covering out-of-pocket costs for the person receiving care.
Maryland caregivers spend an average of more than $7,000 annually on expenses related to the individual they support, including medical bills, home modifications, transportation and respite services.
A separate AARP valuation study calculated that Maryland caregivers deliver more than 700 million hours of unpaid care each year, with an estimated economic value exceeding $12 billion.
Kueppers said policy changes could ease the burden.
“A lot of caregivers have to stop working, or they lose income,” Kueppers said. “Policies that guarantee paid leave, especially for long-term caregiving situations, would provide real financial stability for these caregivers.”
He also pointed to expanded federal tax credits and state-level programs as potential relief measures.
The AARP report aligns with national trends showing the nation’s caregiver population growing as the baby boomer generation ages. Maryland’s 2025 caregiver support ratio – the number of people age 45-64 available to care for each person age 80 and older – is projected to drop to roughly 4-to-1 by 2030, down from 7-to-1 in 2010.
State programs available to Maryland caregivers include the Maryland Family Caregiving Support Program, which offers respite vouchers, and the Senior Care Program administered by the Maryland Department of Aging that helps cover in-home services for eligible low-income older adults.
Caregivers seeking resources can contact the Maryland Access Point offices in each county or call the state’s caregiving hotline at 1-800-AGE-DIAL.
The full AARP Maryland caregiving report is available on the organization’s state website at states.aarp.org/maryland.
