Jul 4 2012
Care for baby boomers looms large as news outlets consider what long-term and hospice care for them could look like and how it could affect their prospects for quality care.
Reuters: Care Gap Looms Large For Aging Baby Boomers
Call it the care gap: that space between needing basic household help and full nursing care. The issue looms large because nearly three in four Americans over age 65 will require some form of long-term care during their lives, according to the National Clearinghouse for Long Term Care Information. And as many as 12 percent of nursing home residents are considered "low need" who could live in the community if they had the right support at home, according to the journal Health Affairs (Ramnarace, 7/2).
The Associated Press: With Boomers Coming, Hospice Industry Diversifies
Forget that image of a hospice worker sitting next to a hospital bed in a dimly lit room. Today, hospice care is delivered everywhere from the golf course to the casino. As they brace for the eventual needs of the aging baby boom generation, hospice providers are working to diversify their services and dispel misconceptions about what they do (Ramer, 7/2).
This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente. |