--- title: The Caregiver Effect description: Explore how caregiving shapes trust, healthcare expectations and future Medicare Advantage choices, by MDRG, the best market research company in Louisiana. image: https://info.mdrginc.com/hubfs/Screenshot%202026-10-20%20140603-1.png --- [![MDRG](https://info.mdrginc.com/hs-fs/hubfs/raw_assets/public/MDRG_June2021/images/logo.png?width=1000&height=589&name=logo.png "MDRG")](https://www.mdrginc.com/) # The Caregiver Effect How Family Caregiving Is Shaping Future Medicare Advantage Consumers ## Behind many patients and members is a second healthcare consumer: the family caregiver. 63 million Americans now care for a family member or friend, up 45% since 2015. For many, that means helping an aging parent schedule appointments, manage medications, coordinate providers and resolve coverage issues, often in parts of the healthcare system they've never had to navigate for themselves.  Along the way, they learn how healthcare really works: where care breaks down, which organizations make it easier, and what they may one day need for themselves.  The Caregiver Effect asks what caring for a parent teaches caregivers about healthcare, and what they carry forward into their own healthcare decisions. The report follows that path in three parts: - A Real-Time Education in Healthcare: How hands- on caregiving affects what caregivers expect from providers and which organizations they trust - What Caregivers Carry Forward: Why caring for a parent makes future care needs and costs harder to ignore, with Medicare Advantage as a case study in household decision-making - Why Healthcare Organizations Should Care: How health systems and Medicare Advantage plans can identify caregivers, design for care as a family activity and build lasting relationships #### What are caregivers learning about your health system or health plan that could change how they approach it in the future? ### Download the full report to learn more.   ![An image of the cover of the Caregiver Effect](https://info.mdrginc.com/hubfs/Screenshot%202026-10-20%20140603.png "An image of the cover of the Caregiver Effect") --- By downloading, you’ll also receive occasional research and insights from MDRG. You can unsubscribe anytime. © MDRG inc. 2021. All rights reserved [Privacy Policy](https://www.mdrginc.com/privacy-policy/)