Long Term Care Costs for the Elderly (and editorial)

[Guest guest]

I'm sure many of you will agree with parts of this editorial in

today's New York Times. The author states that while Medicare will

pay for surgery, tests, hospital stays, ER visits, etc. for the

elderly, Medicare does not pay for what the elderly truly need --

" long-term care in a supervised, safe place for frail or demented old

people, or for home aides to help with shopping, transportation,

bathing and using the toilet. "

The main reason I'm circulating this article is for the data about

the cost of care for the elderly:

* " Nationwide, the median annual cost of a nursing home in 2010 was

$75,000; room and board in an assisted living facility, with no

additional help, was $37,500; and the most basic category of home

health aide, who can perform no medical tasks, like the dispensing of

medication, was $19 an hour. "

* " A recent state-by-state study of long-term care, the first of its

kind, by a consortium of researchers, has found that this kind of

essential help costs anywhere from 166 percent to 393 percent of the

average annual income of America's elderly. "

* " By now, you may be wondering if your parents have a half million

dollars for old age. Or if you or your children do. "

* " 70 percent of the elderly will need extended care before they die. "

Here's a link to the article.

Robin

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/opinion/sunday/how-medicare-fails-the-elderly.\

html

New York Times

Published: October 15, 2011

OPINION

How Medicare Fails the Elderly

By Jane Gross