On Senior Care, the Math Is Unforgiving

The Genworth Cost of Care Survey estimated that the median annual cost for homemaker-type senior care services in the case of an individual requiring daytime or full-time care in shifts is $183,960, reports Forbes . The cost totals $100,375 for private-room nursing community care. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reported that Americans spent $9 billion on out-of-pocket home healthcare from home health agencies in 2017, in addition to $44 billion on care communities, out of $263 billion in total expenditure. Meanwhile, Medicaid spent another $111 billion on Long-Term Services and Supports for seniors. All in all, $109 billion was spent out-of-pocket and $629 billion was spent altogether. Compounding these trends is a soaring "old age dependency ratio," which has climbed from 20 retirees per 100 employees throughout the 1990s and 2000s to 35 to 100 today. Available solutions to this crisis range from improving Americans' health to reduce the need for caregiving to making do with less in other areas of government investment.