The United States is a perpetually optimistic country, so perhaps it is not unexpected that we don’t want to think seriously about what our aging population needs. It is a lot more pleasant to view retirement as a chance to finally visit that faraway vineyard you always meant to check out, not as an opportunity to get better acquainted with the nearby medical community. But we are all but ignoring a tsunami of neglect. The elder care offerings in the country are scattered, difficult to access and often unaffordable — altogether a practical and moral failure.
The most recent warning came courtesy of a report earlier this month by the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis at The New School. According to its calculations, in 2020, about 20 million Americans ages 55 and up needed assistance with daily tasks essential to living independently, from preparing meals to using the toilet. But almost 40% of those people — more than 8 million Americans — receive no help at all. Those who can’t get the help they need are at much greater risk of injury, disability and death.
Though younger generations expect this financial hit, they likely can’t afford it.
The breakdown in care is multifaceted. The vast majority of seniors say they want to grow old in their own homes. While Medicare excels at paying for immediate medical needs, it does not, for the most part, cover long-term home care. There are long wait lists for aides covered by Medicaid — a program meant to address the needs of those living in poverty or near poverty. The entire system pushes seniors to spend their final years in group settings, which can run the gamut from institutional nursing homes that accept government funds to four-star assisted living communities in which, when all services are totaled, can cost more than $10,000 a month.
The issues go on and on. Home health care aides perform physically challenging work for low pay. In the era of the Great Resignation, many are exiting the…
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