Dying Broke: Long-Term Care Poll

When I talked to families about choices they were facing, I was struck by how many were woefully unprepared. “People are exposed to the possibility of depleting almost all their wealth,” said Richard W. Johnson at the Urban Institute. Most people haven’t even talked about it with a loved one.

People become anxious when dealing with paying for help. The wife of a man with dementia said: “I’ll let go of everything if I have to, but it’s a very unfair system. If you didn’t see ahead or didn’t have the right type of job that provides for you, it’s tough luck.”

Most people 50 and older haven’t saved money or researched their options. Some have exhausted savings or depleted their retirement income to cover costs. Many people won’t qualify for government programs that help pay for care, and Congress seems unlikely to tackle the issue anytime soon.

Most people who had been in a facility or had a loved one said finding help, and being able to pay for it, was hard. The families I spoke with were often shocked by the high cost of a nursing home or aide when they had to consider these options.