The SCAN Foundation

The percentage of older caregivers caring for individuals 85+ has increased from approximately one-quarter of care recipients to one-third, according to analysis from three separate surveys conducted by Researchers Donna Wagner and Emiko Takagi of Towson University. Their findings, which appeared in the Health Affairs Blog also showed that parent care is the primary caregiving situation for mid-life caregivers--70% of caregivers between the ages of 50 and 64. While caring for a spouse continues to be the most commonly reported care situation for caregivers 75+, the 2009 study suggests that a substantial number of people in this age group are involved in caring for a friend or neighbor (20%), a parent (20%) or a sibling (18%). This finding is likely a factor of older adults relying on peers for the help they need. Yet, caregivers themselves who are 75+ are most likely to report that they have no help from relatives, friends or other informal source--no peer support.

When patients have a prognosis of less than a year to live, most US doctors won’t talk about end-of-life care if the patients say they are feeling well. This is according to a survey of more than 4,000 doctors in the article, "Physician factors associated with discussions about end-of-life care,"from the Journal Cancer.

Some of the most vulnerable people needing long-term services and supports are the nine million Americans covered by both Medicare – the program for those over 65 and the disabled of all ages - and Medicaid, the health program for income individual. They are “among the “poorest, sickest, and highest cost people covered by both programs,” according to an August, 2009 report by the Kaiser Family Foundation, titled “Health Reform Opportunities: Improving Policy for Dual Eligible.”

Special fiscal relief from the federal government has helped state governments avoid cutting back enrollment in programs serving people who need long-term services and supports. Frequency of visits and reimbursement of providers have been trimmed, but enrollment has not. State budgets, which are already strained, are likely to be trimmed further when the federal stimulus money that has been providing additional support to state Medicaid programs expires in 2011. A November 2009 report, The Economic Crisis And Its Impact On State Aging Programs, from the National Association of State Units on Aging gives some grim figures: