Financing Senior Care -- Plan Ahead

The statistics are not new. And the story is only beginning to come into focus. Every day, more individuals and families come face-to-face with the harsh realities of providing care for an aging parent or loved one. The sheer cost of caregiving is staggering. Informal caregiving has an economic impact approaching $200 billion. Caregivers spend out of pocket more than $2 billion per month. And these numbers do not take into account the emotional toll that caregivers live with daily.

The caregiving role falls predominantly on women. Over 70% of all caregivers are women, with almost two-thirds working full-or part-time. When women are not personally fulfilling caregiving obligations, they are typically the ones orchestrating help for parents, grandparents, in-laws and other relatives or friends.

Statistics cannot begin to portray the dilemma our society is facing. Imagine that suddenly your aging parent can no longer live without some assistance at home. You have no definitive plan in place, your job is pressing, your family life is full and now you need advice, answers and help. It is not a medical need that typically will prove to be the most labor-intensive and time-consuming aspect of care. It is rather non-medical assistance with bathing, dressing, eating, transportation, mobility and other activities of daily living that will demand your critical attention.

And this need may well require your ongoing involvement for the rest of the senior's life. You know that your parent desperately wants to remain at home. Over 80% of older Americans prefer to stay at home; the percentage increases with successively older age groups. Whom do you turn to when your senior loved one is now dependent on you for answers, for a solution?

You may ask what this has to do with finances. Plenty. Planning is critical if in the future we are to provide quality care and services for seniors. Planning needs to take place not just on a goverment level, but also on a family and personal level, and even on a employer level. Businesses, through human resources departments, benefits and employee assistance programs and outsourcing, should start learning and communicating all the options for senior care, and assisting their employees in creating a family financial plan for senior care. Consult some of the experts found within this site, whether it be a financial planner, or a Long Term Care Insurance expert.

Seriously consider creating your own financial plan for your health care future. Planning, with a full understanding of options, can preempt the family-in-crisis cycle that otherwise may engulf us.