December 14, 2009, 11:50 am Who’s Taking Care of Your Mother? By NANCY FOLBRE“
The Artist’s Mother” (known as “Whistler’s Mother”), by James McNeill Whistler. Nancy Folbre is an economics professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Who’s taking care of your mother? And who’s going to take care of you when you fall ill, break your hip or are diagnosed with dementia? Amid the noisy policy debates about health care and long-term-care insurance we sometimes forget what an important role family and friends play in our larger elder-care economy. Just imagine what would happen if they changed their minds, and decided not to take care of us, after all.
The National Alliance for Caregiving has sponsored a series of surveys that reveal the breadth and depth of informal elder-care provision. The numbers show what a crucial role that women play — and why it is hard for women to change this role. The most recent report on care-giving in the United States provides rich details on the type of care that most of us both expect to give and hope to get: About 19 percent of United States residents provide some care to those 50 or older, averaging about 19 hours a week. If we paid for these services, the total price tag would exceed total Medicaid expenditures — or, if you prefer a private-sector comparison, total sales of Wal-Mart. Most of the money would go to women, who represent 67 percent of all caregivers. If care recipients themselves paid the bill, most of the money would come from women, who represent 68 percent of elder-care recipients. Indeed, the average unpaid elder-care provider, at age 50, balances on the cusp of the dependent age category.
Women live longer than men on average and therefore become more vulnerable to the care-intensive problems of extreme old age.
Economists tend to assume that women simply choose to provide care because it gives them satisfaction. But more than 43 percent of all caregivers in the survey reported that they felt that they had no choice. They stepped forward for a variety of reasons: because no other family member or friend was willing or able to provide adequate care or because paid services were economically out of reach.
Those who felt they had no choice were more likely to report emotional stress, poor physical health and financial hardship.
About 45 percent of women, compared with 38 percent of male caregivers, put themselves into the “no choice” category.
Many women would prefer to share care responsibilities more equally with others, but if they can’t, will take on them regardless, as a moral duty central to cultural ideals of womanhood.
Our gender norms tend to assign women greater moral responsibility than men for family care. Consider the following bit of dark humor from episode three of the first season of “Mad Men,” a series that highlights the overt sexism of the early 1960s:
So, the doctor says to him, I hope you’re happy. While you were out playing a round of golf, your wife was in a horrible accident. She’s going to need round-the-clock care — bathing, toilet … I’m just kidding. She’s dead. Hey, what did you shoot?
It’s hard to imagine a similar joke with the gender roles reversed.
And there’s some empirical evidence that the joke is not entirely out of date. A study of men and women with serious illnesses found that women are far more likely to be divorced by their partner than the other way around.
Women face an economic double-bind. Taking more responsibility than men for the care of family members lowers their lifetime earnings and leaves them vulnerable, especially in the event of illness, divorce or widowhood.
Partly as a result, older women remain dependent on younger women for unpaid care. They have an economic stake in younger women’s sense of obligation.
The bittersweet result is that the social organization of care reproduces some aspects of gender inequality. And vice versa.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
An Excellent Review of Proposed CLASS Act
Please click on this link to read an excellent Time Magazine article review some major points of the CLASS Act.
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1946431,00.html
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1946431,00.html
Monday, December 7, 2009
New Study on Where LTC Services are Rendered
This study was published on lifeandhealthinsurancenews.com:
Home Is Favored For Long Term Care: Study
By NU ONLINE NEWS SERVICE
Published 12/4/2009
Nearly 3 times more people are receiving long term care at home rather than in a residential facility, a new study concludes.
Around 7.5 million individuals are receiving LTC at home for an acute or terminal illness, long term health condition or permanent disability, according to the study by the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance, Westlake Village, Calif., and Homewatch Caregivers, Greenwood Village, Colo. In comparison, only 1.5 million are receiving extended care in nursing homes and 1.1 million in assisted-living facilities.
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“When possible, home is almost always the preferred setting for people who require care,” stated Leann Reynolds, president of Homewatch CareGivers. “This has been a clear and growing trend for more than a decade, as more and better home services have become available. The vast majority of people want to receive support care in their homes in order to maintain independence and quality of life for as long as possible.”
Individuals with long term care insurance receive significantly more home care, the study found. Almost 71% of those covered by LTC insurance received an average of between 5 and 7 days of care each week, while only 35.1% of those without insurance received similar care as often, the study found.
Of those with insurance, 41.2% received care for longer than a year; compared to about 30% of those without coverage.
Home Is Favored For Long Term Care: Study
By NU ONLINE NEWS SERVICE
Published 12/4/2009
Nearly 3 times more people are receiving long term care at home rather than in a residential facility, a new study concludes.
Around 7.5 million individuals are receiving LTC at home for an acute or terminal illness, long term health condition or permanent disability, according to the study by the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance, Westlake Village, Calif., and Homewatch Caregivers, Greenwood Village, Colo. In comparison, only 1.5 million are receiving extended care in nursing homes and 1.1 million in assisted-living facilities.
.
“When possible, home is almost always the preferred setting for people who require care,” stated Leann Reynolds, president of Homewatch CareGivers. “This has been a clear and growing trend for more than a decade, as more and better home services have become available. The vast majority of people want to receive support care in their homes in order to maintain independence and quality of life for as long as possible.”
Individuals with long term care insurance receive significantly more home care, the study found. Almost 71% of those covered by LTC insurance received an average of between 5 and 7 days of care each week, while only 35.1% of those without insurance received similar care as often, the study found.
Of those with insurance, 41.2% received care for longer than a year; compared to about 30% of those without coverage.
New Article on Increasing Costs of Long Term Care
Friday, November 27, 2009
The growing cost of long term care
By Chris OrestisPresident, Life Care Funding Group
In a recent report, the government agency that administers Medicare and Medicaid detailed the possible impact of cuts proposed in health care reform passed by the House of Representatives. The study states that the proposed $500 billion in cuts would be so severe that hospitals and nursing homes would be forced to stop accepting Medicare as payment. The report says that seniors would suffer from additional reductions in benefits and services to pay for the $500 billion in reduced spending. The White House answered back against the report's findings by saying the reductions would come in the form of reduced wasted spending on fraud and abuse in the system and from administrative savings through such efficiencies as expanded use of electronic medical records. Democrats also contend that these cuts would extend the life of Medicare a number of years before becoming insolvent. As is often the case, both sides are focusing on the aspects of this study that bolster their position in the debate. But regardless of who is right, one truth is clear -- seniors need to be preparing themselves for less and less financial support coming from the government.
The burden to cover the costs of senior housing and long term care will continue to be pushed back on seniors and their families and people should do all they can to prepare for the inevitable. Two recent reports add more evidence to the alarming trend of financial pressure being pushed back onto seniors and their families as they reach the age that the costs of long term care play a central role in their lives. In addition to Medicaid cuts in the states and cuts to Medicare being proposed as part of health care reform, more money will continue coming out of seniors' pockets. The annual MetLife Mature Markets Institute study tracking the costs of long term care in assisted living, nursing homes and home health care was recently released showing significant increases in costs over the last year:
Nursing home costs rose 3.3 percent
Assisted living costs rose 3.3 percent
Home health care costs rose 5 percent
Adult day care costs rose 4.7 percent
The increasing costs of long term care can be attributed to the most basic economic principal there is: supply and demand. The economic crisis has slowed the construction and expansion of facility based care. Also, more people requiring long term care are having a difficult time selling their homes. As the population of seniors demanding long term care services of every type increases, the supply of options and dollars is decreasing -- driving up the costs. In another alarming report, the costs of Medicare premiums will rise 15 percent next year. This will push the monthly Medicare premium above $100 for the first time in history. The final outcome of this increase, or measures to offset the increase, is being debated in Congress as part of health care reform. Regardless of the outcome, this will now become a yearly struggle as the population going onto Medicare is exploding-- and just when the country is least prepared financially to accommodate the demand.
The realities of a global economic recession intersecting with explosive growth in the senior populations will create increasing pressures for the United States. More people needing help (money), with fewer resources to go around (money), equals hard choices about how to help those who need it most (money). Increasing emphasis on the individual to shoulder more of the costs of their senior years will grow quickly. Moves to cut COLAs, raise the minimum age for Medicare and cut Medicaid funding in the states will become more common occurrences. The Baby Boom generation is still in the early stages of moving into their retirement years and the amount of money required to support these programs is already overwhelming. As economic and demographic trends over the coming years continues to challenge the government's ability to keep pace, seniors and their families must do all they can to prepare themselves financially for the costs of retirement and the even greater costs of long term health care. *For further information, or to contact this author, please leave a comment and your e-mail address in the forum below.
The growing cost of long term care
By Chris OrestisPresident, Life Care Funding Group
In a recent report, the government agency that administers Medicare and Medicaid detailed the possible impact of cuts proposed in health care reform passed by the House of Representatives. The study states that the proposed $500 billion in cuts would be so severe that hospitals and nursing homes would be forced to stop accepting Medicare as payment. The report says that seniors would suffer from additional reductions in benefits and services to pay for the $500 billion in reduced spending. The White House answered back against the report's findings by saying the reductions would come in the form of reduced wasted spending on fraud and abuse in the system and from administrative savings through such efficiencies as expanded use of electronic medical records. Democrats also contend that these cuts would extend the life of Medicare a number of years before becoming insolvent. As is often the case, both sides are focusing on the aspects of this study that bolster their position in the debate. But regardless of who is right, one truth is clear -- seniors need to be preparing themselves for less and less financial support coming from the government.
The burden to cover the costs of senior housing and long term care will continue to be pushed back on seniors and their families and people should do all they can to prepare for the inevitable. Two recent reports add more evidence to the alarming trend of financial pressure being pushed back onto seniors and their families as they reach the age that the costs of long term care play a central role in their lives. In addition to Medicaid cuts in the states and cuts to Medicare being proposed as part of health care reform, more money will continue coming out of seniors' pockets. The annual MetLife Mature Markets Institute study tracking the costs of long term care in assisted living, nursing homes and home health care was recently released showing significant increases in costs over the last year:
Nursing home costs rose 3.3 percent
Assisted living costs rose 3.3 percent
Home health care costs rose 5 percent
Adult day care costs rose 4.7 percent
The increasing costs of long term care can be attributed to the most basic economic principal there is: supply and demand. The economic crisis has slowed the construction and expansion of facility based care. Also, more people requiring long term care are having a difficult time selling their homes. As the population of seniors demanding long term care services of every type increases, the supply of options and dollars is decreasing -- driving up the costs. In another alarming report, the costs of Medicare premiums will rise 15 percent next year. This will push the monthly Medicare premium above $100 for the first time in history. The final outcome of this increase, or measures to offset the increase, is being debated in Congress as part of health care reform. Regardless of the outcome, this will now become a yearly struggle as the population going onto Medicare is exploding-- and just when the country is least prepared financially to accommodate the demand.
The realities of a global economic recession intersecting with explosive growth in the senior populations will create increasing pressures for the United States. More people needing help (money), with fewer resources to go around (money), equals hard choices about how to help those who need it most (money). Increasing emphasis on the individual to shoulder more of the costs of their senior years will grow quickly. Moves to cut COLAs, raise the minimum age for Medicare and cut Medicaid funding in the states will become more common occurrences. The Baby Boom generation is still in the early stages of moving into their retirement years and the amount of money required to support these programs is already overwhelming. As economic and demographic trends over the coming years continues to challenge the government's ability to keep pace, seniors and their families must do all they can to prepare themselves financially for the costs of retirement and the even greater costs of long term health care. *For further information, or to contact this author, please leave a comment and your e-mail address in the forum below.
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