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People don’t want to give up their creature comforts, by and large, and want other people to shoulder the cost. It’s easier to imagine some greedy evil corporate bazillionaire than some regular joe who’s got his own problems. It amazes me how people have become less and less self-reliant over the years.

Cancer treatments could be made to meet market pricing if insurance gets out of the way. How can a family cope with a severely psychotic individual who is unsafe and at times suicidal or murderous? Or one who cannot take care of themselves?

Give me a hint? The wealthy can afford the round the clock care, but the middlc class cannot.

It's not the creature comforts people are not willing to give up. It's the BASICS like housing, utilities, food, gas for the car, a job.

For a full time LPN to sit with a Mentally Ill patient, the "going" rate when I did Casework and I retired in 2006, was $1500 for an 8 hour shift. So $1500 times 3 = $4500, just for ONE day. Now let's assume the family is able to take care of the Mentally Ill person during one 8 hour shift on Saturday and on Sunday. A week it would cost 19 shifts x $1500 = $28,500 a WEEK. Times 52 Weeks = $1,482,000 A YEAR.

Someone check my math.

Who's got that kind of money to provide care for ONE person? In a Private or Partially Funded MH facility, perhaps a person is paying $5000 to $25000 a month (depending on a lot of variables). So, who's got THAT extra, laying around to pay out for one person?

So, the person HAS no financial choice but to turn to the State and Federal Government for care for their Mentally Ill relative.

In the past, I think if a child was born with Down Syndrome, the child probably died shortly after birth and no one explained "why" as no autopsy was done. What happened to a mentally ill older child? Probably placed in the attic all his/her life. I'm sure there are "family secrets" that have died with grandparents and parents regarding the care and feeding of the mentally ill in their family.

Again, where do people turn when the cost of care is so high that it could drive the sane insane or could be the excuse to run away or the reason for suicide?