For those of you not appreciating the magnitude, you have no idea how expensive, difficult, & financially/emotionally unsupported eldercare is. Most families can't hire care & nursing homes too expensive so it gets foisted on usually a woman, the 1 nearest, the 1 w/ no kids, the 1 making the least.
Kamala Harris will propose a major new initiative today: expanding Medicare to cover the cost of long-term care at home
Harris will pitch the initiative as a way to help "sandwich generation" families and propose paying for it mostly with savings from Medicare drug negotiations.
And for those of us with immigrant elders, finding a care facility that isn't horrible can be extra hard!
And the ones not involved STILL have no idea the toll it takes. I’ve cared for 5 parent types as they aged/sickened/died. My siblings have cared for zero. It’s an experience I’m profoundly grateful for as md also, sadly, glad I won’t do it again until it’s my generation’s turn.
I have watched families with multiple siblings rise to the occasion and divide eldercare costs/labor. I have seen probably even more, the strain of eldercare tearing families apart as no one wants to be stuck with it but someone gets holding the bag leading to ruptures in family relationships.
100%. So far we've been lucky. My dad died relatively quickly, and my mom re-married well, so she has long term care covered. Now we're holding our breath and crossing our fingers with my spouse's folks as they age. This would be huge.