As more baby boomers age into their retirement years, the need for effective elder care in the United States is growing rapidly. But the cost of providing such care is skyrocketing; few who want to supply it personally can afford to work fewer hours or quit; and government programs for older Americans, such as Medicare and Medicaid, offer far less support than most realize.
“We don’t have a long-term care system in this country that meets the needs of most people,” said Jennifer Goldberg, the deputy director of Justice in Aging, a nonprofit that advocates for more supportive laws for seniors. “A lot of people are going without the care they need — a lot are falling
through the cracks —and as the population ages, the problem is going to become even more critical. We need to have programs in place that make things work for older folks.”
