Commentary|Podcasts|November 12, 2026

Data, At-Home Care Bills Target Caregiver Strain, Sen Andy Kim Says

Caregiving needs a place on the next Congress’s agenda, says Sen Andy Kim (D, NJ), who is caring for his father with Alzheimer disease.

Caregiving needs a place on the agenda of the incoming Congress, and legislation to ease the financial and logistical strain on families should be part of it, Sen Andy Kim (D, NJ) said.

Kim, the primary caregiver for his father, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer disease last year, spoke with Mary Caffrey, executive editor of The American Journal of Managed Care, the day after the 2026 midterm elections and at the start of National Family Caregivers Month. He said thousands of caregivers have contacted him since a Senate floor speech a year ago, and he sees caregiving as an issue that cuts across party lines.

Closing the Data Gap and Aiding Care at Home

Kim said the country lacks a clear count of how many people care for a loved one and how many are also raising children, a gap the Multi-Generational Caregiving Data Act, introduced in May, would address. He noted an estimate of about 7 million people with Alzheimer disease, which he said could double to 14 million in 20 to 25 years, and warned that neither the workforce nor Medicare and Medicaid spending is prepared for that growth.

The Medicare at Home Act, introduced in August, would provide up to about 20 hours a week of at-home care services through Medicare, not just Medicaid. Kim said families often cannot get help with daily activities until they spend down their assets to qualify for Medicaid, after which more expensive institutional care is often needed.

“We are paying for this largely anyway, and we’re usually paying for it when it’s most expensive,” Kim said.

What Comes Next

Kim said he cannot predict what Congress will do in the lame duck period. He plans to push to reverse Medicaid cuts enacted in last year’s reconciliation law (the One Big Beautiful Bill Act), which he opposed, and to press for service funding in appropriations. If those efforts stall, he said he will reintroduce them in the next Congress, working with Sen Ron Wyden (D, Oregon) and others on a broader caregiving agenda.