I ran across a recent article in the New York Times titled, “Preparing More Care of Elderly.” The article painted a pretty dark picture of the medical care received by the elderly.
The article is instructive on many levels and is a “must read.” It describes how little money is spent researching the medical needs of the elderly…how Medicare reimbursement rates are insufficient…and how hospital re-admissions could be dramatically lowered if better medical care was provided to the elderly.
The most telling comment comes from Dr. David Reuben, chief of geriatrics at U.C.L.A., who observed that “vulnerable elderly people who are at risk of becoming frail often do not get appropriate care. For dementia, falls, bladder incontinence, depression, they get about a third of the care they need.” Not a good comment on how America cares for the elderly.
My Take: America is doing a damn poor job of caring for our parents and grandparents….do you think it will be any better for us?