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The following is an interesting article in the NYT (which thankfully is also available from KFF) that interviews families that struggle to find care, the companies that provide it, and analyzes data from the Federally funded Health and Retirement study, arguably the most authoritative national survey of older people about the long-term care needs and finances.
If you go to the Reports and Graphs, there are some interesting reports and a lot of data from the study.
One should observe that the information included here has a far greater validity than the typical anecdotal personal stories and personal takes that pervade the forum. [There is even a comparative view of the US vs other wealthy countries in the context of the long-term / elder care that an uninformed and opinionated poster was pontificating about on another thread.]
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Here is a discussion of the methodology of the study and the analysis the NYT and KFF conducted (which is reported in the article above).
I am hoping it is publicly available outside the firewall but can’t test it myself as I am a subscriber. It gives a good overview.
PS: If you read The NY Times link, there are a lot of comments on the article that are interesting and informative. A lot more realistic than the impression one gets on this forum where there are but a few informed posters like ocnjgirl (and others).
I couldn’t read the article because of the paywall but suspect about 20% of people need care. I do know that most nursing home stays are only a few years thankfully. Of course there will always be outliers who spend a decade in care.
Anyone interested in the matter can obviously look up the facts (ie, 1. the exact way in which social assistance is funded (% of population that pays mandatory contributions or taxes into the social safety net, and the size of such contributions), 2. what exactly is offered by way of social assistance, and 3. what % of the population receives cash assistance and other forms of welfare), and compare these exact data between the US and any other country. "Studies" nearly always have agenda; the straight information #1-3 is the straight information without politial or other interpretation.
Disclaimer: I did not read that stuff recommended above. Always consider the source and motivation :-). I
I couldn’t read the article because of the paywall but suspect about 20% of people need care. I do know that most nursing home stays are only a few years thankfully. Of course there will always be outliers who spend a decade in care.
They’re really not outliers. We have lots of people who have been here for many years. Probably about half a dozen or so who die each year, not a lot. Remember too people are entering younger today and many here simply because they had no place to go after rehab and most of those have no life threatening illnesses.
When they do the stats I wonder if they include those who enter the home as subacute patients, because more of them do die because they come in very sick. That would skew average length of stay. Because most people only living a couple of years after they enter, has not been my experience at all in more than 25 years.
I couldn’t read the article because of the paywall but suspect about 20% of people need care. I do know that most nursing home stays are only a few years thankfully. Of course there will always be outliers who spend a decade in care.
The KFF link and the Health and Retirement study links should not be behind the paywall.
They’re really not outliers. We have lots of people who have been here for many years. Probably about half a dozen or so who die each year, not a lot. Remember too people are entering younger today and many here simply because they had no place to go after rehab and most of those have no life threatening illnesses.
When they do the stats I wonder if they include those who enter the home as subacute patients, because more of them do die because they come in very sick. That would skew average length of stay. Because most people only living a couple of years after they enter, has not been my experience at all in more than 25 years.
That’s sad if you’re seeing a lot of long term residents. What a horrible way to live. People in my family usually only go if they absolutely can’t take care of themselves at all and then only a few weeks or months before they die.
That’s sad if you’re seeing a lot of long term residents. What a horrible way to live. People in my family usually only go if they absolutely can’t take care of themselves at all and then only a few weeks or months before they die.
Many don't have anyone willing or able to care for them. This partly comes back to the discussion about people getting sick younger. The group of 50's and 60's who would normally take care of parents, are often sick themselves (especially in lower income populations. In other cases, the kids work full time. In other cases, the parent has underlying mental illness that makes caring for them difficult.
When my mother needed care, I lived 90 minutes away in a 2nd floor (26 steps) one bedroom apartment. There was no way I could take care of her. I took her to my apartment for 10 days until I could get her into the ALF I was working in under respite care (private pay) until I could find a permanent place for her. It was awful. She couldn't get up by herself, so called me on my cell every 2 hours, all night long, to be taken to the bathroom. Meanwhile I have to get up at 5am because I have a 75 minute commute to work. Traditonal families are not the norm anymore, where mom stayed home and they have a house they can bring a parent to.
my dad was in a facility for 5 long years after a paralyzing stroke
Yes there are always outliers. My dad had a big stroke at 59 and my mom cared for him for 14 years. We bought the house next door and I helped. Except for him everyone else on both sides of the family either died at home or spent anywhere from a week to 6 months in a nursing home. My mom lived alone until a week before she died from cancer at 89. She fell and couldn’t get up so went to a facility.
the insurance companies thought usage was less but that was based on a generation ago .
they got crushed with usage and most of our generation are not old enough to be in the sweet spot .
homes care is far greater then they ever imagined …we got a 60% increase in premiums to 12k a year for my wife and i
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