In 2021 unpaid family caregivers in Virginia provided care that would otherwise cost $14.3 billion, according to new state data available in AARP’s latest report in the Valuing the Invaluable series. This is a $3.1 billion increase in unpaid contributions since the last report was released in 2019.

The report highlights the growing scope and complexity of family caregiving and highlights actions needed to address the many challenges of caring for parents, spouses, and other loved ones.

“Family caregivers play a vital role in Virginia’s health care system, whether they care for someone at home, coordinate home health care, or help care for someone who lives in a nursing home,” said AARP Virginia State Director Jim Dau. “The care they provide is invaluable but it's also costly, in terms of their time, money and personal well-being.”

Virginia’s total Medicaid spending for fiscal year 2021 was about $16 billion. Medicaid is the federal/state program that provides health care coverage for low income Virginians and pays for long-term care coverage for more than half the state’s nursing home residents.

“Virginia taxpayers owe the nearly one million family caregivers a debt of gratitude for their unpaid work keeping their loved ones out of nursing homes,” Dau said.

To find scheduled virtual and in-person workshops and other programs of interest to people age 50-plus and their families, visit aarp.org/virginiaevents.