In general I agree, but in my area the average nursing home stay is nearing $7,000.00 per month, and even if you count a retirement benefit and social security payments to be applied to the account, it doesn’t take long to spend much of what many people around here have managed to save. And the costs are variable depending on the level of care needed, so it is not unusual to have an annual fee of $85,000.00 to $100,000.00 in nursing home care.
The average length of stay in a nursing home, if I recall correctly, is just around 2. 5 years. Therefore, the average person will spend upwards of a quarter million dollars on nursing home care. That is way above nearly all of the house values in our county.
The costs are so high that it is inevitable that people become impoverished, and if both husband and wife are in the nursing home at the same time, Katie bar the door.
Most of the people are not slugs, but hard-working laborers and farmers who did not have the good fortune to have Daddy leave them a farm, so they really need the help.
On the other hand, there’s a couple of ‘em I know that...well, I won’t go there.
Everyone has their own personal circumstances and I have to say there is a need for a safety net of sorts. Most people are not exhausting their options before turning to government.
Personally, my family is faced, has faced, the retirement of many family elders. At the same time, my family is also faced with our juniors making their way into the world. We don’t take government assistance. We help each other. It is difficult because my generation is less numerous than previous generations. Those previous generations, with 8 to 12 siblings, are being supported by the current generation of 2 to 3 siblings.
At my age, nearly 50, I have to deal with my own children going to college and getting into the world. My wife and I are helping her brother (her junior by 12 years) hold on to his independent trucking business, as well as care for my parents and my wife’s parents. We are holding things together, at least for now. We are not looking for handouts.
Not too long ago we were helping our grandparents. They have all past. None of them ever spent time in a nursing/retirement home. We (the family) made sure their needs were met. Our grandparents made it into their 90’s and died at home. They had healthcare till the end. But more importantly they had family with them every day. Literally, we took shifts.
They died with grace. They died with love. They died with family. It didn’t cost taxpayers anything. My family is stronger because of it.