🚀💸 Eldahs in Crisis: Da Cost of Care Going Sky High
⬇️ Pidgin | ⬇️ ⬇️ English
Howzit gang! 🌺 Get ready fo’ hear one real pilikia (problem) we get ova here. You know, in da USA, we no get one solid system for take care of our kupuna (elders) when they need long-term care. So, plenny of our old folks struggling big time for stay independent, or they gotta mix and match different kine ways for get help.
Take Margaret Newcomb, 69, one retired French teacher from Seattle. She’s going all out for protect her retirement savings by taking care of her 82-year-old husband at home. He get severe dementia, and he’s so lost and weak now dat he wanders off, no even knowing how for come back home. She gotta put one tag on his shoe wit her phone number, just in case.
Den get Feylyn Lewis, 35, who wen’ give up her promising career in England for come back Nashville cause her mom had one bad stroke. They wen’ end up in $15,000 debt for medical and credit card bills while she wen’ become the full-time caretaker.
And Sheila Littleton, 30, from Houston, she wen’ bring her grandpa wit dementia to her house. She tried for months for get him into one nursing home wit Medicaid coverage but ended up having for leave him at one psychiatric hospital just for make the system do something.
Dis kine hard choices and da chance of financial ruin is what millions of families facing right now. Da costs for in-home care, assisted living, and nursing homes just eating up da savings and income of our old folks and their ohana (family). 🏥💰
Richard W. Johnson from da Urban Institute wen’ say, “People are exposed to da possibility of depleting almost all their wealth.” And das tru’, especially for da boomer generation who wen’ build up da middle class and been dreaming of one nice retirement wit their 401(k)s and pensions. About 10,000 of them turning 65 every day until 2030, hoping for live into their 80s and 90s, but da cost of long-term care is just exploding!
Da challenges only going get more. By 2050, da number of Americans 65 and older expected for jump more than 50 percent, to 86 million. And da ones 85 or older, they going nearly triple to 19 million. 📈👴👵
Now, da kine system we get in da United States for long-term care, it’s mostly just mix and match. Da private market where only few families buy long-term care insurance wen’ shrink, and labor shortages making it hard for find workers willing for care for our elders at home. And da cost for one spot in one assisted-living facility? Brah, it’s too much for most middle-class Americans. They gotta run out of money first before they qualify for nursing home care paid by da government. 🤷♂️💸
Dis whole pilikia (problem) been looked into by The New York Times and KFF Health News. They wen’ talk story with families all ova da nation struggling for get care; they wen’ check out da companies dat provide da care; and they wen’ analyze data from da Health and Retirement Study.
‘Round eight million old folks 65 and over say they get dementia or trouble with basic daily tasks like bathing and feeding themselves. Nearly three million of them no get any help at all. Most just rely on their spouses, keiki (children), mo’opuna (grandchildren), or friends. 🛁🍽️
Da United States, compared to odda wealthy countries, spend less of its gross domestic product on long-term care. We behind places like Britain, France, Canada, Germany, Sweden, and Japan. And we spend way less of our overall health spending on long-term care than our international braddahs and sistahs.
Dr. Rachel M. Werner from the University of Pennsylvania wen’ say, “We just don’t value elders da way dat other countries and other cultures do.” She wen’ mention how we no get one good financing and insurance system for long-term care. No get enough political will for spend dat kine money. 🏛️💵
Even though we get medical advances dat help people live longer, da federal long-term care for old folks no really change since da 1960s. From 1960 to 2021, da number of Americans age 85 and older wen’ increase more than six times da rate of da general population.
Medicare, da federal health insurance program for Americans 65 and older, covers da cost of medical care, but usually only pays for home aide or stay in nursing home for limited time. Medicaid, da federal-state program, covers long-term care,
but only for da poor. Middle-class people gotta use up their assets first before they can qualify, forcing them to sell most of their stuff and empty their bank accounts.
You get stories like Gay Glenn, whose mom lived in one nursing home in Kansas until she passed away at 96. Her mom had for spend down her savings, paying more than $10,000 a month, until she qualified for Medicaid. Ms. Glenn, 61, had for move from Chicago to Topeka for take care of her mom’s care and finances. And when her mom passed, da estate had for pay back Medicaid about $20,000 from da house sale. 😟🏠
Right now, skilled nursing homes get ’bout 630,000 old residents, and their care can cost more than $100,000 a year without Medicaid. Nine out of ten people say they no can afford dat much.
Efforts for create one national long-term care system keep failing. Democrats say da federal government gotta do more, but da Build Back Better Act proposal for $150 billion for in-home and community-based services under Medicaid got dropped. Senator Bob Casey, Democrat of Pennsylvania, wen’ say, “Da federal government gotta do its part, which it hasn’t.”
But Republicans like Senator Mike Braun of Indiana say da federal government no can do more than it already does. People gotta save for when they need care.
Den you get da private companies, where da prices just keep going up. Da boomer generation, even wit their hip and knee replacements, no like go nursing homes. But da costs for assisted-living centers and home care, ho, brah, it’s nuts. Half of da nation’s assisted-living facilities cost at least $54,000 a year. Home care not cheap either; agencies charge ’bout $27 an hour.
As Americans live longer, more and more of them developing dementia, and their needs just keep growing. In Seattle, Margaret and Tim Newcomb gotta sleep on separate floors of their house cause of his dementia. Ms. Newcomb wen’ consider memory care units, but da least expensive option was ’round $8,000 a month, and their income only $6,000. 🛌💔
Den get da adult keiki (children) who become guardians of their old parents and watch their slow, expensive declines. Claudia Morrell from Maryland wen’ estimate her mom spent more than $1 million during da eight years she needed care for dementia. “I will never have those kinds of resources,” Ms. Morrell said.
Women often carry da burden of care. Annie Reid wen’ give up her life in Colorado for seven years for take care of her mom in Maryland. She only wen’ go back to Colorado afta her mom passed away.
Efforts for improve da situation been limited. The CLASS Act, part of da Obamacare legislation of 2010, was supposed to give people da option of paying into one long-term insurance program, but it was repealed two years later. And the WISH Act, a proposal for one long-term care trust fund, never wen’ catch on. 📜❌
Da home care front facing worker shortages, so da Build Back Better Act wen’ try for improve wages and working conditions, but dat never make it into da final legislation.
And den get Medicaid, da only real safety net for many Americans. More than four out of five middle-class people over 65 who need long-term care for five years or more gonna end up on Medicaid. But even den, qualifying can be tough, and families often gotta spend plenty kala (money) on lawyers and consultants for figure out da state rules.
In da end, families like Harold Murray’s gotta navigate one system dat’s like one shredded safety net, trying for get their loved ones da care they need. It’s one hard road, and no look like it’s gonna get easier any time soon. 🛣️🏥
So das da story, folks. Our kupuna and their ohana facing one big pilikia wit da cost of care going sky high. We all gotta kokua (help) where we can, and hope da system gets better for take care of our beloved old folks. 🙏👵👴🌺
NOW IN ENGLISH
🚀💸 Elders in Crisis: Soaring Costs of Elder Care
Hey there, everyone! 🌺 Let’s dive into a serious issue gripping the USA right now. Our system for providing long-term care to our elderly is, frankly, a mess. Many of our seniors are struggling to stay independent, often relying on a hodgepodge of solutions to get the care they need.
Take the case of Margaret Newcomb, a 69-year-old retired French teacher from Seattle. She’s fighting tooth and nail to safeguard her retirement savings by caring for her 82-year-old husband, who suffers from severe dementia, at home. His condition is so serious that he often wanders off, prompting her to attach a tag with her phone number to his shoelace.
Then there’s Feylyn Lewis, 35, who had to put her promising career in England on hold and return to Nashville after her mother suffered a debilitating stroke. They racked up $15,000 in medical and credit card debt as she assumed the role of caregiver.
Sheila Littleton, 30, from Houston, brought her grandfather with dementia into her home, only to spend months unsuccessfully trying to place him in a Medicaid-covered nursing home. Eventually, she felt forced to leave him at a psychiatric hospital to compel the system to take action.
Families like these are facing daunting life decisions — and potential financial ruin — as the costs of in-home care, assisted living facilities, and nursing homes consume the savings and incomes of older Americans and their families. 🏥💰
Richard W. Johnson from the Urban Institute points out, “People are exposed to the possibility of depleting almost all their wealth.” This is especially true for the boomer generation, who helped expand the middle class and envisioned a comfortable retirement. Now, about 10,000 boomers turn 65 every day until 2030, hoping to live into their 80s and 90s, but facing skyrocketing long-term care costs.
By 2050, the population of Americans aged 65 and older is projected to surge by over 50 percent, to 86 million, with those 85 or older nearly tripling to 19 million. 📈👴👵
The U.S. lacks a coherent long-term care system, relying mostly on a patchwork approach. The private market for long-term care insurance has dwindled, and labor shortages have made it difficult for families to find home care workers. The cost of assisted living facilities has become prohibitive for most middle-class Americans, forcing them to deplete their resources to qualify for government-funded nursing home care.
This crisis has been extensively explored by The New York Times and KFF Health News. They’ve interviewed families across the nation, examined care-providing companies, and analyzed data from the Health and Retirement Study.
About eight million older adults report having dementia or difficulty with basic daily tasks, with nearly three million lacking any assistance. Most rely on spouses, children, or friends for support. 🛁🍽️
Compared to other wealthy countries, the U.S. spends a smaller share of its GDP on long-term care. We lag behind in dedicating our health spending toward long-term care, with less political will to invest in it significantly.
Despite medical advances extending lifespans, federal long-term care for the elderly hasn’t fundamentally changed since the 1960s. Medicare covers medical care but generally not long-term home aide or nursing home stays. Medicaid, meanwhile, covers long-term care but only for the impoverished, forcing middle-class people to exhaust their assets to qualify.
Stories like that of Gay Glenn, whose mother lived in a Kansas nursing home until her death at 96, are all too common. Her mother had to spend down her savings, paying over $10,000 a month, until she qualified for Medicaid. Ms. Glenn, 61, moved from Chicago to oversee her mother’s care and finances, eventually selling the family house to pay back Medicaid.
The financial pressures on families are immense. In Seattle, Margaret Newcomb and her husband, Tim, sleep on separate floors of their home due to his dementia. She’s considered memory care units, but even the least expensive options are far beyond their means. 🛌💔
Adult children, like Claudia Morrell from Maryland, face the burden of overseeing their parents’ slow, expensive decline. Ms. Morrell’s mother spent over $1 million on residential care for dementia over eight years, an amount out of reach for most families.
Women often bear the brunt of caregiving. Annie Reid, for example, spent seven years caring for her mother with dementia, upending her life in Colorado to do so. After her mother’s passing, she returned to her life and started a furniture redesign business.
The toll of caregiving on children, particularly women, is significant. The median lost wages for women providing intensive care for their mothers is around $24,500 over two years.
Feylyn Lewis, having moved back from England to Nashville, gave up her role as a research director to care for her mother. She’s now facing the challenge of making up for lost income while supporting her mother and her ailing 87-year-old grandfather.
Government solutions to this crisis have been elusive. Past efforts like the CLASS Act and the WISH Act have either been repealed or failed to gain traction. And while recent initiatives aim to improve conditions for paid caregivers, substantial change remains out of reach.
Medicaid, despite being the primary safety net for many Americans, leaves gaps in coverage and presents formidable challenges in qualifying for nursing home care. The process often involves spending thousands on legal fees and navigating complex state rules.
The financial and emotional strain on families is immense, as they navigate a system that seems ill-prepared to support the growing needs of an aging population. 🛣️🏥
So that’s the story, folks. Our elders and their families face a daunting challenge with the rising cost of care. We all need to lend a hand where we can, and hope for a system that better supports our valued seniors. 🙏👵👴🌺
