Image by Getty Images via @daylifeApproximately 45 thousands Americans die each year due to lack of health care insurance. Those over the age of 65 who have Medicare fair better. But with entitlement programs like Medicare under the threat of deep budget cuts, caring for an aging population in hospitals and other professional care facilities may soon be a thing of the past.
In generations past, it was part of the norm to keep generations of families together. Health insurance was not a factor. Now it is just the opposite. The changing structure of the family in our society has made how to care for an elderly relative one of the most difficult decisions relatives can take make. Depending on the level of care needed, the choice between home care and professional care is not always clear.
Resources are often the most influential factor when it comes to deciding how to care for an elderly relative. In some countries, there are no options; aging parents remain at home no matter what their physical condition. In America, health care is about insurance; people who have it get medical care, those who don’t often die earlier than they would with medicine and proper care.
Most individuals cannot afford to pay nursing home costs out of their personal finances on a long term basis. That leaves home care as the only option. But with families under economic stress being forced to work longer hours just to make ends meet, there is little time left to address the physical and emotional needs of a frail or sickly parent at home.
Skyrocketing medical costs has made Medicare a target for government budget cuts. It is a sad reflection on society when a country as rich as America can think of no other way to pay for their years of over spending than to target the needs of the most fragile and helpless segment of their population.
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