Iris Altilio

While hard decisions will need to be made on the budget this year, I support this bill. New Hampshire has one of the highest numbers of senior citizens per capital. In 2023 AARP reported "the unpaid care provided by the 168,000 caregivers in New Hampshire is valued at $2.8 billion." AARP NH's executive director, Christina FitzPatrick said "Family caregivers play a vital role in New Hampshire’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." Without family caregivers, the expenses to seniors and to the state would increase significantly and seniors requiring care would suffer immensely. But being a family caregiver can be exhausting and debilitating. It can tear apart families. That's why this bill is so important. Family caregivers need respite to be able to continue to function. Defeating this bill could wind up costing the state significantly more than the appropriation in this bill.