REPUBLICAN CRISIS & PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONSULTANT, DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST ACTIVIST LAUNCH PAC TO FOCUS ON ROLE OF CAREGIVERS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 29, 2026

BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Both Christopher Bastardi Martini and Elizabeth Gonzalez had lengthy stints taking care of relatives. They have known one another since the seventh grade and started their junior high school’s environmental club in 1995. Thirty-one years later, he on the political Right and she, on the Left remain friends and are teaming up to establish the political action committee (PAC), Caregivers United for Equity. 

Caregivers United for Equity seeks to drive an overdue conversation about what it means to care for a loved one, the sacrifices made and how to properly and reasonably compensate those who show up.

“I was not prepared for life to stop,” said Mr. Martini, who added his aunt’s surname in her honor recently. “It was especially impactful as a small business owner. Your ability to actually function in everyday life, to run and grow a business and to meet obligations is interrupted. It becomes impossible to juggle it all  - and there is considerable impact to caregivers.”

He cared for his grandmother, increasingly, for years, before she was eventually placed in a rehabilitation facility where she died. Concurrently, his aunt had several strokes in a short period of time and became bedridden, needing 24-hour care. Mr. Martini moved in with her in December 2024 and has remained living in Brooklyn following her death.

Ms. Gonzalez, who cared for her mother, ailing from afib neuralgia and Alzheimer’s Disease, until her passing in May said, “We are facing a crisis of caregiving in this country as the Baby Boomer generation ages. Caregivers need more support.”

While everyone’s situation is different, there is an economic and personal cost involved in caring for New York’s - and the nation’s - aging population. Even in hospice, patients are living longer; the average time in hospice increased by nearly 10 percent between 2010 and 2022. Many employers are patient and the Family and Medical Leave Act offers job security, which helps but is not enough. Caregivers United for Equity urges the state to begin looking at caregivers as a part of our healthcare infrastructure and not just an ancillary component of it.

“It’s more important to listen and talk than to attack one another because we disagree on some issues related to healthcare, trusts and estates,” added Ms. Gonzalez. “We might be able to codify rights for caregivers in New York State by working together.”

Caregivers United for Equity seeks changes to New York’s probate laws, hospital mandates, a substantial income tax credit and more. 

Caregivers United for Equity: Platform

Allowing for a Caregiver to Claim a Deserved Compensation
The reasons to challenge one’s standing in an estate are narrow. Very narrow.

It’s time to talk about those doing the caretaking being able to claim an appropriate share of an inheritance in a decedent’s estate. Those doing the caretaking deserve a greater share in a will than those who did nothing when the chips were down.

Nowadays, there’s an incredible impact when it comes to a caregiver’s time, finances and emotional well-being. It is imperative that a conversation about death, dying and their aftermath be at the forefront of our state and nation.

Trust Addendums
State law should allow for and protect addendums to trusts where the guarantor can establish an inheritance allocation adjustment based upon submission of financial records to the trustees detailing economic losses due to caregiving.

Caregiver Education Programming

The state should provide caregiver education programming at the local level so that caregivers understand what rights they have, including FMLA as well as stress-reduction programming.

Patient Discharge Reform
Hospitals need to audit the discharge process systemwide to determine how it can be improved for both patients and caregivers. No one likes what will be called an “unfunded mandate” but it’s part of what hospitals should be doing anyway (and many are). 

A Substantial Tax Credit

A one-time devastating economic hit needs a soft landing. We propose a substantial tax credit to make up for economic losses while caregiving, which would demonstrate the State of New York understands the economic position folks are being put in. We are not proposing a credit the size of, for example, the EITC, but one much larger given the temporary nature of the situation, the lasting impact it has and the number of people eligible at any given time.

Note: the PAC intends to work with lawmakers and research entities to determine the economic cost to New York State; however, the potential cost does not negate the importance of the proposal.

A Just Compensation

The average New Yorker lives paycheck-to-paycheck and many who are ill do not qualify for Medicaid until every penny is exhausted and they are close to death. Some caregivers can be paid by Medicaid if the patient is eligible - and if they are not the patient’s health proxy - per the recommendations of a provider. Those recommendations are seldom representative of the actual time and effort going into caretaking. Caregivers need to be compensated justly, based on the actual time and effort it takes, not just an assessment subjectively assigned should the patient be Medicaid eligible.

Caregiver Agreements

New York State should formally acknowledge - to ease enforcement - of caregiver agreements that can be drafted and signed before a patient is in hospice. They lay out the duties another will take on as caregiver and provide for the caretaker financially while they are executing their duties. Such agreements are similar to those one would have with a project-based consultant, but with oversight from a third party for payment of expenses to prevent a raiding of patient finances. Individuals of all economic classes should find such agreements pertinent. They can be as simple as ensuring a caretaker has three meals a day and transportation funds at the behest of the patient.

About Caregivers United for Equity

Established in 2026, Caregivers United for Equity is beginning a long overdue and real conversation that addresses our aging population and hardship despite benefits of the Family and Medical Leave Act.
CaregiverTrustNY.com

About Chris Bastardi Martini
Aside from this PAC, Mr. Martini also runs PR firm Bastardi Associates. He has represented businesses, nonprofits, celebrities and those in politics on both sides of the aisle, including Mary Trump and Bridget Kelly. He blogs at SomethingProfound.org. 

About Elizabeth Gonzalez
Elizabeth has a masters degree in public policy and administration from UMASS Amherst. She works at a nonprofit in New York City where she lives with her husband and son. Elizabeth has served on her co-op board, is active in her Unitarian Universalist congregation and the Democratic Socialists of America.