Family caregiving is placing an enormous financial, professional and emotional burden on millions of Americans — and the findings of a new 2026 survey suggest home care agencies have an increasingly important role to play in helping families navigate that burden.
The 2026 Family Caregivers in Crisis Survey, conducted by Aeroflow Urology and based on responses from 1,144 family caregivers, found that fewer than one in four Americans can afford the cost of caregiving. The findings point to a caregiving system under significant strain, with families frequently providing complex care without formal training while simultaneously dealing with lost income, rising expenses and limited support.
For home care agency owners, the findings underscore the challenges facing the families who increasingly turn to professional caregivers for assistance — and highlight the importance of making home care easier to understand, access and integrate into a family’s overall care plan.
Caregiving Is Affecting Americans’ Ability to Work
The survey found that an estimated 63 million Americans provide care for an adult or child with a medical condition or disability. Most family caregivers provide that care without pay while also attempting to maintain outside employment.
For 73% of family caregivers, those responsibilities continue for more than five years.
The employment consequences are significant. More than half of survey respondents said they had reduced their work hours because of the challenges associated with caregiving, while 11% said they had to leave their jobs entirely to care for a loved one.
For home care providers, those findings demonstrate that the need for services often extends beyond the physical needs of the person receiving care. Professional assistance can also affect whether a family member is able to continue working, maintain household income and remain in the workforce.
Families Are Struggling with the Cost of Care
The financial pressures identified by the survey are particularly striking.
According to the survey, one in four caregivers spends more than $500 each month on bladder-control products. Sixty-one percent of the 1,144 respondents said their loved one’s basic hygiene products, including diapers and underpads, were not covered by insurance.
Nearly half of the caregiving households surveyed reported annual incomes below $75,000, while 12% reported incomes below $25,000.
Among caregivers enrolled in Medicaid, 77% said they also rely on other government assistance programs to make ends meet. Of those households, 38% depend on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Supplemental Security Income.
The findings illustrate why cost remains one of the most significant barriers families face when considering additional care. For home care agencies, understanding a prospective client’s financial circumstances can be just as important as understanding the individual’s physical care needs.
Family Members Are Performing Complex Care Without Formal Training
The survey also reveals the degree to which family caregivers are being asked to perform increasingly complicated tasks.
More than half of respondents said they were taking on complex care responsibilities without formal medical training.
The consequences can be serious. Fifty-seven percent of caregivers reported that their loved one experienced medical complications because they were unable to meet the demands of caregiving.
At the same time, 89% said they felt abandoned by their doctors and were left to find assistance and resources on their own.
For home care operators, those numbers highlight a potentially important gap between what families are expected to manage on their own and what professional support can provide.
They also reinforce the importance of recognizing when a family’s needs have progressed beyond what an unpaid caregiver can reasonably handle.
Navigating the Healthcare System Is Its Own Challenge
The physical work of caregiving is only part of the problem.
Twenty-eight percent of caregivers identified understanding healthcare and insurance systems as their greatest burden rather than the physical aspects of providing care.
The survey also found that more than one in five caregivers are caring for a loved one without assistance from family members, friends or paid professionals.
For more than 41% of caregivers, profound isolation and feeling entirely unsupported represented the greatest emotional strain they face.
That creates an important consideration for home care agencies: families may not simply be looking for someone to provide hands-on assistance. They may also need help understanding what services they need, how professional care fits into the larger care picture and where to turn for additional resources.
The “Sandwich Generation” Faces a Particularly Difficult Balancing Act
The survey also highlights the pressures confronting the so-called sandwich generation — caregivers who are simultaneously supporting aging parents and raising children.
According to the survey, this group represents 16 million caregivers.
For these families, caregiving responsibilities can collide with employment, parenting, household finances and personal responsibilities. The result can be a level of pressure that makes additional professional support increasingly important.
For home care agencies, these families represent a population that may be particularly receptive to flexible services that can relieve some of the day-to-day responsibilities of caregiving.
What the Findings Mean for Home Care Providers
The survey paints a picture of family caregivers who are increasingly stretched financially, professionally and emotionally.
For home care agencies, that environment presents both a challenge and an opportunity.
Families may delay seeking professional help because of cost, uncertainty about available resources or a belief that they should be able to manage caregiving themselves. Others may not recognize how much assistance is available until they reach a crisis point.
That makes education and communication increasingly important for home care providers.
Agencies that can clearly explain available services, help families understand what professional caregivers can and cannot do, and connect families with appropriate resources can play a valuable role in helping caregivers navigate an increasingly complicated system.
The Aeroflow Urology survey also points to the importance of looking beyond the immediate care recipient. A successful care plan must account for the caregiver’s ability to work, the family’s financial circumstances, the complexity of the care required and the emotional toll of providing care over an extended period.
A Growing Need for Support
The survey’s findings arrive against a backdrop in which family caregivers provide an enormous amount of unpaid care. The survey cites an estimated 63 million Americans providing care for adults or children with medical conditions or disabilities, with nearly 48 million of those caregivers providing care without pay. It also cites a 2026 AARP report estimating the economic value of family caregiving at $1 trillion annually in the United States.
For home care agency owners, the message is clear: The demand for caregiving support is being driven not only by the needs of aging or disabled individuals, but also by the growing inability of family members to shoulder the entire responsibility themselves.
As families confront higher costs, disrupted careers, complex care requirements and increasing isolation, professional home care is positioned to become an increasingly important component of the caregiving equation.
The challenge for agency operators will be making sure families understand the value of that support — and helping them find a path to care that works within the realities of their finances, schedules and family circumstances.
