Tik-Toker Breaks Down Over Cost of Eldercare (enemy, legal, health care system)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm surprised it's not more than that. My Mom spent 4 years in a nursing home before she died in 2016. She required 24 hour care. Even 8 years ago it was about $6K per month in not-the-nicest accommodations in a county that ranks in the top 13% nationwide (median income). As a point of reference, Kings County, just outside of NYC, ranks about 10 (out of 3,143) spots lower (out of 3,143) .
uhm.... kings county (Brooklyn) is part of NYC..... NYC is made up of 5 boroughs (counties) ( Manhattan, Kings, Queens, Bronx, Richmond (Staten Island))
This is the kind of thing that keeps me up at night. My grandmother is in an independent living facility and pays over $5000 a month - and we still need to get her to doctor's appointments and make most arrangements for her. Her kids have absconded any responsibility (and yet somehow still think they deserve an inheritance) and we're having a reckoning because my SIL has health issues that prevent her from driving so now she and my brother, who live the closest, are now down to one car with 2 working adults with demanding jobs and 2 kids under 8. I live 3 hours away - moving her closer would be even more expensive in my higher COL area and my mom, who has POA, prevented my grandmother from buying a home with me so I could care for her until she needed a higher level of care. It's not something I could have afforded alone, and now all of that money has gone into her current living situation.
Both my partner and I's parents have virtually nothing saved for retirement and homes that have fallen into disrepair. His parents in particular are older and have physical and mental health challenges, but live in a rural area in the middle of nowhere. We will be older parents, so both sets of parents are experiencing declines without having prepared financially at all just as we're getting set to buy our first home and have kids. I've had to put my foot down and say that I'm not willing to care for people who won't care for themselves, nor will I risk putting the same burden on our kids (or, even worse, not having kids in order to pay for our parents) if one of us has to drop out of the workforce, reduce our workload, or subsidize our parents' retirement. We can't afford a home with an in-law suite, much less two, and our parents are both in such a situation due to choosing to retire early on both sides that they are unable to help us buy something they could also live in.
It's a mess. And so many of our friends in their 30s and 40s are looking at similar futures with aging parents who just don't have enough.
uhm.... kings county (Brooklyn) is part of NYC..... NYC is made up of 5 boroughs (counties) ( Manhattan, Kings, Queens, Bronx, Richmond (Staten Island))
I stand corrected. My point remains. Stay on topic, please.
And I imagine theyve got mostly a minimum wage staff witth a couple rpn's on board.
Around here a lot of them are Filipino immigrants.
I have an elderly relative with dementia who is in a memory care facility. The bill is almost $9,000/month. She burned through her own savings years ago; her son is footing the bill. Fortunately he can afford it for now but it's burning through his own retirement savings.
My mom is elderly and people have suggested that I put her in assisted living. HA! Only if she wants to burn through all of her unprotected assets in the space of a few years. She'll live with me as long as possible, even if we have to hire part-time help.
My neighbor was discussing this with me and their elderly mothers costs $8k a month for assistance living. Its a crazy amount but as I thought about it a 1 bedroom rental in my area costs now more than $3k a month (in north jersey), minimum wage was hiked from $7 to $16 in the last 3 years which means your lowest paid employees are probably making $25 an hour and add in expenses like insurance, food, and utilities and i can see it being $8k a month.
There certainly is a business opportunity here as boomers begin to start to age, an opportunity to "McDonalds" elder care living and make it more affordable to the masses.
The hourly salaries for full time staff aren't the problem (in our facility the CNAs make $22 an hour btw, in the assisted living section they get $18). The problem is rampant staffing shortages since Covid means they are using agency CNAs and nurses and paying those companies more like $40-$50 an hour for CNAs and more for nurses (the nurses and CNAs only get a fraction of that). At the same time, more people are now on Advantage plans, which has cost every home a lot of money (subacute rehab is what makes up for the daily loss of money on the long term units, and Advantage plans are cutting people after a couple of weeks, while with traditional Medicare they were able to get rehab for up to 100 days). And they are reducing both Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement, too.
I can't even imagine what utilities cost. Electric and heat 24/7, many people on oxygen concentrators 24/7, lots of people on electric air mattresses (for wounds), etc, etc. And in older buildings like ours there are always things breaking. We just had to replace our entire call bell system which was probably tens of thousands, the plumbing always needs repairs, and the heating and air conditioning systems are always on the fritz.
There are a lot of facilities closing since Covid, the biggest reason probably staffing shortages and reduced revenue at the same time.
I know this may sound disgusting to most folks, but some folks will be offing themselves.
My grandfather tried to by OD'ing on morphine when he was suffering from rapidly spreading cancer. This was 6 months before he ended up passing away, in February 1991.
I'm surprised it's not more than that. My Mom spent 4 years in a nursing home before she died in 2016. She required 24 hour care. Even 8 years ago it was about $6K per month in not-the-nicest accommodations in a county that ranks in the top 13% nationwide (median income). As a point of reference, Kings County, just outside of NYC, ranks about 10 (out of 3,143) spots lower (out of 3,143) .
Kings County is in NYC. It's otherwise known as Brooklyn.
if she thinks the cost is high..... wait until she finds out medicare does NOT cover such places
her head will explode
Yup. My mother is in assisted living, at a cost of $5,000/month. It's being paid for by her share of my father's estate. She is now the sole owner of their house, and when that gets sold the proceeds will go towards keeping her where she is.
You are not alone in this. If I outlive my wife, and am cognizant that my QOL will be poor, its time to peacefully (and not messily) check out. Been my plan for years to be honest. I have even made my eldest daughter aware of this.
All the common ways are very messy and don't always succeed. My neighbor's youngest daughter attempted and failed. Ruined her parents remaining years. The state of Alabama is preparing to test a method that may not be messy.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
