Aging

The Washington Post recently ran a column arguing that the U.S. model for caring for the frail elderly and younger people with disabilities falls far short of the long-term care systems in France and the United Kingdom. There is no doubt the U.S. scheme is deeply flawed. But even as Congress struggles to reform long-term […]

This story was produced in collaboration with our partner In Washington D.C., Councilwoman Mary Che visits Palisades Village, an aging-in-place community where neighbors help neighbors with basic services so that seniors can stay in their homes longer. (Evy Mages for The Washington Post) Nearly three years ago, Harry Rosenberg and his wife, Barbara Filner, met […]

Suddenly, many hospices are admitting fewer patients. Others are increasingly caring for people for just days or hours before they die. The result: cash-strapped hospices are cutting back on nurses and aides, and patients are missing out on critical end-of-life care. It is not clear why it’s happening, but some hospice officials blame both a […]

An elderly woman taken last year to St. John Medical Center in Tulsa, Okla., had suffered a massive stroke and could no longer speak, eat or drink. Although she had an advance directive specifying no artificial hydration or nutrition if she weren’t going to recover, local health officials said, her nephew insisted the local bishop’s […]

Part of an occasional series on end-of-life care. Americans often confuse hospice care, which precludes aggressive medical treatment and usually requires a prognosis of six months or less, and palliative care. The nub of the difference is that a palliative care team can be providing pain relief, psychological and spiritual support – even as another […]

Part of an ocassional series on end-of-life care. Living wills and advance directives were the hope for end-of-life decision-making decades ago. Related Content Bunny’s Last Days: When Living Will Isn’t Enough Hospice, Palliative Care Aim To Ease Suffering “In the 1970s, we had a great confidence that there were some simple reforms that would help,” […]

This story comes from our partner (Scott Olson/Getty Images) Bioethicist Arthur Caplan is a big man with a gravelly voice and a reputation for blunt characterizations about health care conundrums. Speaking on the phone from his office at the University of Pennsylvania, he recently posed a question: “What would you do if your mother needed […]

Here’s the problem: By the time we need long-term care services we often don’t have readily available resources to pay for them. Only about seven million Americans have private long-term care insurance. And, on average, retirees have financial assets of less than $100,000-usually in the form of a 401(k) or other retirement plan. If a […]