Re: The True Cost of At-Home Caregiving

[Guest guest]

Lois replied to me instead of the group by accident... here's her response to

this article:

Hi all,

This NPR piece makes some very good points about the hidden costs to adult

children of caring for a disabled parent at home. As usual, has shared

valuable information that will no doubt generate discussion and thought.

Reading the article, I calculated that the estimated annual cost for a home

health aide, $21,840, would cover less than 3 hours a day of assistance. To me,

this figure is highly misleading for purposes of a true financial comparison.

Once your parent becomes seriously demented or otherwise disabled and cannot

safely be left alone, requires the help of two people to accomplish activities

of daily living, or requires a lot of care at night, you will need considerably

more than 3 hours a day of help--unless other family members are sharing the

responsibilities or you, yourself, are Superwoman. A minimum of eight hours a

day (which would cost $61,152 a year) is more realistic, and even that assumes

that you are the sole caregiver 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year.

Even if you're a retired adult child or a retired spouse who, by definition, is

not giving up income to provide home care, the out-of-pocket costs of caring for

a demented parent or spouse at home often far outstrip the cost of assisted

living and may rival or exceed the cost of nursing home care. This is especially

true if your own physical or other health challenges require more paid

assistance than might otherwise be needed. Medicare and typical health insurance

policies offer little to no reimbursement for home health care.

In addition, a person over age 70 who cares for a demented spouse is at six

times greater risk for developing dementia herself than someone who has not

cared for a demented spouse. And any family member who is a caregiver is

vulnerable to " an array of physical and mental problems associated with

caregiving " , including " depression, sleep problems, less exercise and unhealthy

diet, " all of which " may be risk factors for dementia. " Presumably this applies

even to Superwoman. See

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/05/dementia-caregiver-risk/, one of

numerous articles and posts to cite a study published in the Journal of the

American Geriatrics Society in 2010.

All of these facts speak to the need to provide tax credits and other relief to

people who drop out of the workforce to care for a disabled parent or spouse.

They also suggest that if you are young and healthy, long term care insurance

for yourself and your spouse or partner should be high on your priority list if

you can possibly afford to pay for it.

My husband, Larry, was at home for almost four years after being diagnosed with

LBD before he required nursing home care. Our long term care insurance, not easy

for us to pay for, turned out to be a lifesaver, covering a significant portion

of our expenses for adult day care, home health aides (eventually up to 18 hours

a day), and now the nursing home.

I still had, and have, primary caregiving responsibilities. And, of course, I am

dealing with the inevitable sadness, grief, stress, and, yes, anger, that

accompany this cruel disease. Our expenses are hardly trivial. But ten years of

premiums were recouped in about six months of claims and we are not in danger of

complete financial ruin in the foreseeable future. I can't imagine how much

greater the stress would be if we were facing financial disaster on top of the

many other losses inflicted by LBD.

So thanks, , for bringing this story to our attention. I guess I find it

easier to respond to posts on the financial costs of LBD than to address the

physical and, more important, the emotional costs. But money is really just a

proxy for the more genuine and demanding challenges we must confront when LBD

invades our lives.

Lois

(age 65, loving wife of Larry, age 73, who was diagnosed with LBD 11/8/2007)

>

> via Alzheimer's Daily News

>

> The True Cost of At-Home Caregiving

>

> (Source: NPR) - Walk through any nursing home, and your first thought might

be: " I need to take care of Mom myself. "

>

> Few people want to turn over a loved one to institutional care. No matter how

good the nursing home, it may seem cold and impersonal - and very expensive. But

making the choice to provide care yourself is fraught with financial risks and

personal sacrifices. Those who become full-time caregivers often look back and

wish they had taken the time to better understand the financial position they

would be getting themselves into.

>

> Go to full story:

>

http://www.npr.org/2012/05/01/151472617/discovering-the-true-cost-of-at-home-car\

egiving

>