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The cost of assisted living. The cost of long term health insurance.
My inlaws paid $200 a month EACH for 10 years.... and were just admitted to a care center. After 90 days (which means they pay for the first three months) - the insurance will pick up the tab for 2.5 years.
at $7500 a month - for both of them.
How many of us are prepared to pay that?
No, it doesn't mean that. Medicare pays the first 90 days. Which is why all LTC policies kick in after 90 days.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mlb
My mother is in a nursing home - depleting her resources. $5000 a month.
My sister's MIL is also in a nursing home - depleting HER resources. $6000 a month.
There will need to be different options - other than ending up on the street.
Whose resources should be used to pay for this care? Taxpayers? I don't think so.
That's exactly what her resources are for; to pay for her care. I'm sorry if that means we taxpayers don't get stuck paying for it so that you can receive an inheritance.
In addition to the health care and financial issues, many seniors will face relocation issues, including:
1. Should I relocate to a less expensive community, and if so how can I be certain my future community will continue to be a good financial choice (for example, will taxes go up there in the future).
2. Should I relocate to one of those mega 55+ communities in the middle of nowhere, or will it go belly up?
3. Should I choose a CCRC, and if so will it be able to remain afloat financially?
4. If I have to move again, will I be able to?
5. If I can't sell my house, do I want to deal with becoming a long distance land lord?
6. If I move from a community that has jobs because it is expensive, can I be 100% certain that I will never need a job again?
Massachusetts has a ballot question this fall, the same as Oregon's "Death with Dignity," or physician-assisted dying or whatever you want to call it. I am so hoping it passes. When my father was dying in June (in New Jersey), he was 87 with met CA of the pancreas and liver. Diagnosed on May 11, he was told he had maybe three months at most. He kept saying, "If only I could just take a pill" and I would have given it to him. Screw pain relief, etc. What about weeks of incontinence, weakness, falls, severe constipation, unable to eat or drink, unable to do anything? He had to go to a nursing home for the last 19 days, and the hospice component was a mess of miscommunication. He was conscious for two weeks and in misery, then unconscious for four days.
There's cancer all over my family. My father and his eight siblings all had it. My sister. My mother. Her sister.
I've worked in hospice (AIDS hospice in Boston, in 1990). I know that hospice care and palliative care is great when it works out, but what if you don't want to go through it? I raged at the "death panels" B.S. All it was is that if your doctor wants an appointment with you to discuss end-of-life issues, Medicare would pay for the appointment. Period.
I already worry about loneliness/isolation and car dependence. (I am not near retirement at this moment). But end-of-life issues can come at any time, and of course are more likely as we get older. One could even say 100 percent more likely.
Evidence from Oregon seems to show that none of the "slippery slope" issues have come to pass. I so hope Massachusetts votes this in this fall.
The topic of this thread is huge and all-encompassing; already we've had two excellent additions to the thoughts which occurred to me in post #2. As for the future of medical care, it seems to me the "moral courage" will be required to address the enormous expense of providing herioc end-of-life care. We, as a society, will need to ask ourselves if it is worth it to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to extend the life of one already elderly individual for another month or two. The emotionally overwrought term "death panels" will continue to be trotted out, and what a shame. Emotionalism trumps rational thinking for way too many people.
This is an incredibly important issue for everyone, now and into the future. The end of life heroics (hugely expensive procedures that extend life for a few months, for example) are bankrupting the healthcare system, and everyone needs to take a hard look at how they will deal with these issues for loved ones and for themselves. The quality of that extended life is often miserable, as the elderly are least able to withstand invasive procedures and extensive surgeries. 85 year olds getting triple bypass?
Medicare doesn't cover long term care beyond 90 days, unfortunately, and many of these heroics at the end of one's life does not make that person independent. Quite the opposite. It puts that person in a situation where they need 24/7 nursing care in expensive assisted living facilities, something that many/most have to pay for out of pocket (unless they purchased a long term care policy when they were younger) and use up their life savings or their family's life savings.
The quality of life in these situations is often grim, in many cases being kept alive with machines. These are very serious issues everyone needs to confront at some point. How do you want your life savings to be used at the end of your life? Do you have enough savings to cover these incredibly expensive places (5,000/month and up)? Is it worth a few months of "life" being hooked up to machines, or totally unable to care for yourself? Everyone has to answer this for themselves, but the whole end of life issue and the end of life heroics that Medicare covers are not sustainable into the future for the Medicare program.
To respond to the OP's question, I worry about (1) running out of funds before I die, (2) the inevitable issues related to Medicare funding, (3) what happens when I can't drive, (4) big corporations running the government through lobbyists, and (5, related to 4) the huge amounts of corporate and billionaires' money being paid to legislators at the federal and state levels as well as to state governors.
Massachusetts has a ballot question this fall, the same as Oregon's "Death with Dignity," or physician-assisted dying or whatever you want to call it. I am so hoping it passes. When my father was dying in June (in New Jersey), he was 87 with met CA of the pancreas and liver. Diagnosed on May 11, he was told he had maybe three months at most. He kept saying, "If only I could just take a pill" and I would have given it to him. Screw pain relief, etc. What about weeks of incontinence, weakness, falls, severe constipation, unable to eat or drink, unable to do anything? He had to go to a nursing home for the last 19 days, and the hospice component was a mess of miscommunication. He was conscious for two weeks and in misery, then unconscious for four days.
There's cancer all over my family. My father and his eight siblings all had it. My sister. My mother. Her sister.
I've worked in hospice (AIDS hospice in Boston, in 1990). I know that hospice care and palliative care is great when it works out, but what if you don't want to go through it? I raged at the "death panels" B.S. All it was is that if your doctor wants an appointment with you to discuss end-of-life issues, Medicare would pay for the appointment. Period.
I already worry about loneliness/isolation and car dependence. (I am not near retirement at this moment). But end-of-life issues can come at any time, and of course are more likely as we get older. One could even say 100 percent more likely.
Evidence from Oregon seems to show that none of the "slippery slope" issues have come to pass. I so hope Massachusetts votes this in this fall.
I also hope that Mass passes the "dying with dignity" law in November. In my opinion, everyone should have that choice at the end of their life.
This is my mother. Age 92. Her life in a nursing home is not a life. She's not ambulatory - she lays in bed most of the day.
Yup. My aunt died at age 91 after 2.5 years in a nursing home. Once she was there, especially after my uncle died, she just withdrew into herself. She once said her world was gone.
Ha - my biggest issues - decluttering my house and figuring out how I want to live for the next 25 years. I don't expect I'll be falling apart for a good, long while, yet. Still not accustomed to not working. Worked for over 52 years. It's a hard mindset to break.
Not worrying about the big picture, other than being a good steward of my nest egg, and planning for a SS reduction at some point down the road. The politicians will do what they will do. I will adapt.
No, it doesn't mean that. Medicare pays the first 90 days. Which is why all LTC policies kick in after 90 days.
Whose resources should be used to pay for this care? Taxpayers? I don't think so.
That's exactly what her resources are for; to pay for her care. I'm sorry if that means we taxpayers don't get stuck paying for it so that you can receive an inheritance.
Care should not cost this much. Period. Stop insulting me. Did I say I wanted taxpayers to pick it up?
No I didn't. You must be a teabagger.
And yes, they are paying for the first 90 day. You do not know the terms of their policy.
IYO, without getting into politics what are the biggest issues aging retirees and seniors 65+ face as a group/generation in the next few years? Are you worried about, or somehow just concerned about these issues alone? Who else shares your views? Do you know of others who would want to join a discussion group with you?
Where does "concern" become necessary (if at all) to be an activist in some way? I ask this last question because the boomers are one of the most known generations for activism, but that does not necessarily mean sitting down on a sidewalk with a sign.
While also not trying to make it political, the biggest issues will be protecting/increasing the benefits we have, especially the 47% of us.
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what are the biggest issues aging retirees and seniors 65+ face as a group/generation in the next few years? Are you worried about, or somehow just concerned about these issues alone? Who else shares your views? Do you know of others who would want to join a discussion group with you? 
