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Elder Care
Preparing Financially to Care for Aging Parents
By Teri Brown
Elinor Ginzler, director of livable communities, AARP Office of Social Impact, believes that adult children usually do not have a good grasp on their parents' finances. "One of the most difficult areas to assess, from both the emotional/relationship dynamic and from an organizational standpoint is finances," Ginzler says. "So when parents begin to need care from their adult children, the focus is first and foremost about getting their care needs met."
According to Ginzler, there is often somewhat of a delayed response before they realize that financial assistance is needed too. Sometimes this is about care products, such as incontinence products or nutritional supplements. Other times, the costs are for primary life costs – like rent or taxes or insurance premiums for a Medicare Supplemental Insurance policy.
Unfortunately, very few people make provisions for their long-term care. Perhaps they don't understand that their caregiver will be responsible for what their income or insurance doesn't pay for. That is, if they even have insurance. Many people think that Medicare will cover the cost of long-term care and it just doesn't. It only 
covers limited short-term stays in a nursing home or limited short-term home health services under narrow circumstances. Very few people know how much nursing home care costs or ow much it is to have an aid come into their home to help. This is a need that adult children should bring up to their parents before the need arises. It would be nice if we all lived long, productive lives and then passed away quickly. The reality is that most people don't and two-thirds of us will need long-term care.