Idiocracy 2011: House GOP to Elderly: “**** You, I’m Eating”

I. Unpaid Caregivers of the Elderly FUND This Country

This month’s American Family Physician includes an article called “Caregiver Care,” by Lauren Collins, MD and Kristine Swartz, MD. Unfortunately, I can not give an online link, since articles in this journal are not available free to the public. However, I can summarize some major points.

1.80% of Americans requiring long term care live at home.
2. 90% of their care is provided by unpaid family caregivers.
3. The U.S. taxpayer is saved $375 billion a year, thanks to these unpaid caregivers. That is money that might have to be spent on nursing home care if there was no family member to do the work for free.
4. The people receiving care at home are older, sicker and have more disability than in the past. With the aging of the U.S. population, there are now more of them, too.
5. The caregivers who provide their services for nothing are typically middle aged women who spend 20-39 hours a week caring for their elderly relative, and they do it long term, many for more than five years. These women are more than twice as likely to live in poverty. They often have to quit their jobs or cut hours in order to become caregivers. They spend about $5000 a year out of their own meager earnings to care for their relative. They have more health problems themselves, particularly depression. And 80% of them do not think they have adequate training to provide the type of long term care which they are currently giving.

So, what is that $375 billion a year in unpaid care buying this country (besides elderly that are able to continue living at home)? There are about a third of a million paid firefighters in the country making about $80,000 a year. That’s $26 billion in fire protection. The 545 members of Congress have combined salaries of at least $96 million. In 2006 there were 800,000 law enforcement officers in the federal and local governments. Their salaries vary a lot but the average is about $50,000. That $40 billion is more than covered by the free care provided to the elderly.

Military personnel are paid $129 billion according to this site.

http://www.warresisters.org/pages/piechart.htm

That leaves $180 billion which more than covers the $100 billion we pay public school teachers a year.

http://www.villagelife.org/news/archives/CS_publicschools/edufacts.html

The extra will pay for quite a number of $11 million a year (salaries plus bonuses) CEOs.

II. So, What Do We Give the Unpaid Caregivers of This Country In Return?

Recently, the Senate held hearings about why the Older Americans Act of 1965 should be re-authorized. The GOP dominated Congress of 2006 voted overwhelming to keep this popular program going.



http://www.aoa.gov/AoARoot/AoA_Programs/OAA/Aging_Network/Index.aspx

According to a recent Senate report, in 2010, the feds spent just $2.38 billion on these programs which include things like food, community services and provider care programs. That means the government is getting a massive return on its investment---for every $1 spent, it reaps $375 that is not spent because some elderly person did not have to go into a nursing home, most often by way of a hospital.

So, what does the GOP Controlled House want to do to federal spending for the elderly at home? You can see a summary of the Paul Ryan (R-WI) proposal here. His budget cuts spending for elderly housing, nutrition and community support services at the same time that it cuts funding for their medical care.

Note that Ryan would:



http://aging.senate.gov/crs/aging18.pdf

This at a time when there are more aging Americans who have an increased number of chronic diseases.

This approach is so illogical that it verges on moronic. If you cut the pennies that are spent keeping the elderly well and at home, Medicare and Medicaid costs will skyrocket. No problem, if you are Paul Ryan. You just cut available Medicare and Medicaid funding, presumably in hopes that more of the elderly will choose the ice flow option.

Someone remind me. Which party was so up in arms about “death panels”?

Oh, one more thing. There will be no free ride for granny, no matter how arthritic her spine and how bad her vision or how many toes (or feet) she has lost to complications of her diabetes. If granny can’t work, granny won’t be able to eat.

about. It's a tough, tough time for the person that needs help and the care giver. It's not just the money, it's the constant state of alert, the errands that need to be run, the chores that need doing. The agency's that you think would help, can't. They have too many applicants and too few dollars. The income levels to qualify for assistance keep going up, or the exemptions are lowered.
If you are , or know of someone who is caring for someone else, my heart goes out to you. It's tougher than most people can imagine. It's like squeezing 40 hours of work into 12; every day.

Add in the frequent doc appointments and ER trips, the diet and medication management, the failure of other family members to help out, the "stubborn-elder syndrome" (won't-have- "strangers"--in, must-stay-in-my-crumbling-old-house-til-I-die types), the constantly being on guard against scammers who target the elderly.

Then, too, the help that is available, or that the elder can afford to pay for, is often completely inadequate. Agency aides are paid peanuts, so, in my experience, agencies attract people who tend to do as little as they can get away with. Or, who may try to hit up their charges for extra money or other things. So *they* need oversight from the family caregiver as well. Many people will hire aides under the table, which is fraught with all kinds of legal and financial liabilities. A slip-and-fall by an off-the-books aide could lead to financial disaster.

The impact on caregivers' health and ability to earn a living during their middle years is enormous.

figured out how much I got (from welfare) to take care of her - it came to $.33 an hour. Today I have a minimum social security check because the little I could work did not allow me to get more. When I did work it was often care giving at minimum wage for the elderly who lived in our building.

One thing I will say is that the community let me know that they thought I was a good mother and they appreciated what I was doing. I often wished that the state would have at least either recognize my contribution toward her care in figuring my social security benefits or at least have paid me a small stipend - maybe even the same amount they paid people on general assistance. I did get food stamps and medical assistance so that is something.

I also took care of my mother,kept her out of a nursing home for about a year.

She than moved in with my brother in Canada.My brother convinced her there was too much drama in my neighborhood-another story.


My fighting the ins co's over her care.They death paneled her,in 1994.It took 114 documented phone calls-fighting with them so she would receive proper care, saved her life,and moving her in w/us.

This resulted in her living another 5 years,and they were quality years.It is hard work and can put a strain on relationships,but I don't regret a minute of it.Not everyone is in a position to be able to do this,at

that time I was home with my kids,and my ex was working.

Paul Ryan is reprehensible and anyone else who is advocating his abhorrent policies is a scumbag ,at best.Same for ins. companies.

The Ryan monstrosity,and the Thomas issue was getting too much attention hence the Weiner story.

SINGLE PAYER period.

heat for his statment about the Republican healthcare plan but he was absolutley right. The Republican healthcare plan for the uninsured, underinsured and now Medicare and Medicaid recipients is DIE QUICKLY.