why should the elderly have to sell their homes for care?

Question

my dad is 94, he pays for his care at home, we help him of course. He has a small works pension to live on, when domestic stuff needs doing we do it for him. What happens to the elderly who have no-one

Answer 1

Nursing homes.

Answer 2

It sucks, to be sure. In most post-industrial societies, the extended family is a thing of the past. The elderly no longer have family members living at home to help care for them. I moved back home to look after both my parents (just my mom now). It was either that or they would have to move into an assisted living community. I didn't want a bunch of strangers looking after my parents in the last years of their lives.

Remaining at home alone is quickly becoming untenable for the elderly, especially those with major health problems. For those with family, they can always move-in with their children. And for those without, well... I think many will have to face the difficult choice of whether to sell off their assets and moving into an assisted living community, despite how un-glorious of an end to their life it may seem. If they cannot afford to pay for their own healthcare, they may not a choice but to end up in a assisted living center or nursing home. Not how one should have to end their life.

Answer 3

There are many people who care about the elderly with no one to take care of them.

Private organizations across the country count on donations and charity from people like you and me.

Please understand, as I get the feeling - since this is in the politics section - that government should NOT be involved in the matter.

One man's misfortune is not another man's mortgage. No one should be FORCED to pay for the elderly care through government funding/taxes.

One should have the CHOICE, out of respect for human life, to give however much one can afford or offer to the care of the elderly.

Answer 4

I know an old lady in this position - given the social service's choice, she would be left to rot! It has taken the threat of legal action and naming and shaming plus much shouting to get her the hellp she needs.

She worked all her life and paid masses in tax and National Insurance - without having family around to support her. She never married, never had kids.

The SS atitude is, if she can wash herself, she can be left to fend for herself despite the fact that she cannot lift a sausepan with water in, can't cook for herself and is very forgetful - she has a gas cooker and smokes (and no, I don't think she should give up. She's 80+, let her have one pleasure!)

All she has to live on is a state pension and a tiny pension from work. She comes from a generation who could not afford to save and, as a woman, for many years got far less wages than the men, so far less pension.

Answer 5

Your Dad is blessed to have your help, many children turn their backs on the very people who gave them the gift of life. Elderly who have no one sometimes do have help from public charity, church and community groups, but miss the security they deserve at the culmination of their life. I found myself single and in a position to help when my Mom needed it, so now we live together. At first it seemed a chore, but now I've learned to be so very grateful to have her back in my life. She brings joy into my life that I probably wouldn't know if I were alone. Her experiences and wisdom fascinate me, and I never realized how much she knew about life. If you read this and don't know how your parents or other elderly relatives are doing, find out! Your existence might be of use to someone else! It feels so good to do the right thing!

Answer 6

As heat-wrenching as it may seem, the correct answer is this: They had their entire lifetimes to prepare for their old age, what did they do? Many younger people today do the same thing. They spend every dime they earn before they get it and do not even think about the future. What happens when they reach old age? Should everyone else be required to pay their way?

One solution has been proposed but demagogued off the table. That was Social Security Reform. Instead of allowing the Federal Government to collect tax money from us and immediately spend it, it would have allowed that tax money to be invested where it would compound and remain our own asset. Instead, we continue the Ponzi Scheme we know as Social Security. If you ran a scheme like this yourself you would be guilty of a major felony yet the Federal Government has been doing it for decades.

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Answer 7

The people with no one are passed off to inadequate nursing homes and left to die. The reason your Dad is in the position he is in is because, this I assume, he is an American. Our government does nothing for any of us who actually work for a living to make America a better place for all. If we happen to work for wages, and do not make ridiculous salaries, we are left to trust in pensions and Social Security. We know what a joke that is. Working class Americans are never entitled to retire to health and happiness. Working class Americans must work up until the day they die or suffer like hell and wish they had died sooner. No affordable anything for the likes of the American working class.

Answer 8

My aunty worked all her adult life, she lived comfortably but saved most of her money, she didn`t go out drinking or played bingo, smoked or gambled, some people would say she had a boring life but that is the way she wanted it. When she was older she sold her house to go to live in sheltered accommodation, because she had money she had to pay full rent, the lady next door payed very little coz she had no savings. I have learnt by this, save a little spend a lot, why should people who have saved all their life be penalized and people who have spent all there money get help.

Answer 9

95% of elderly people who need help remain in their homes and are means tested under the Goverments legislations to pay toward the care they receive.

The 5% that go into care homes are also means tested and are only placed in the home if ALL other avenues have been explored.

Unfortunately we cannot afford to keep everyone in care and pay for it - the increase in taxes would be significant and we would need to raise billions to pay for the care places.

This is why three reviews of the elderly care systems recommending free healthcare have been shelved by the current Labour government.

The system in Scotland is held up as and ideal but it is nearly bankrupting them and I now understand moves are underway to change the system.

So sorry the free care will never happen.

Answer 10

Its very simple. The nursing home industry makes billions of dollars annually "caring" for the elderly--after incarcerating them.

There is an althernative--independant living assistance--which costs, on average, half as much or less. However, thanks tothe lobbying efforts of the nursing home industry and HMO's, Medicare will not pay for most independant care services.

That ould cost the neoconservatives who have invested heabily in the nursing home scam a lot of money.

Answer your question?

Answer 11

No, and I feel that people should have the right to die however they like, like enuthanasia, and it should be legal. Again this is a law forced on us by Christians, if they want to lie for months dying let them but when I'm ready to go I don't want to put my family through that. All other 1st world nations take better care of their elderly. We'd be a better society for doing that, it's the right thing to do. If you'd feel FORCED to, you need to reevaluate what it means to be part of a society! The government is us, all of us, like it or not!