Children who must put a parent in long-term care for the first time suffer from sticker shock.

More than 1.5 million senior citizens were in America's nursing homes, according to the latest statistics available from the Centers for Disease Control. Their cost is staggering.

An average nursing home charges $4,000 a month, so a 29-month average stay costs $116,000.

Without long-term care insurance, a stay of that duration would be financially crippling for most people on a fixed income and their families.

Medicaid will pay for a nursing home, but the senior must be below the poverty level to qualify.

Medicare pays in full for 21 days of skilled nursing care, and partially pays through 100 days. The patient is responsible for $133.50 per day of skilled nursing care beyond day 21 in Alabama.

Some people can afford in-home care for their elderly relatives, but an average of $2,000 per month for 40 hours of care per week -- half the price of a nursing home care -- is still beyond the means of many families.

As the Baby Boomers age, these numbers will go up, putting greater strain on federal and state budgets. But, like so many other health care issues, this problem simply wallows in the morass of special interest groups and bickering politicians.

Copyright (c) 2010, The Decatur Daily, Ala. 

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bwriter2 Medicare will only pay in full for 21 skilled nursing and partially for 100 ONLY if patient comes right from 3 day hospital stay.

Apr 15, 2012, 12:28 PM EDT

snopea123 The way the system is set up is to make it so the elderly have to be able to get medicade to be able to stay in a nursing home. When my mother was alive it took almost 6 months before she was acccepted. I sent all of the paperwork 3 seperate times with return recipt requested.I was told that nobody received the paperwork. Now the government wants to make cuts to the programs involved.

Apr 16, 2012, 8:31 AM EDT

dagokid My Mom has been in a Nursing Home for exactly one year now. She has had Alzheimer's disease for about 3 years. It is a very sad time visitng her for she doesn't remember my name-but-she always smiles when I enter her room.
It makes her day and it makes mine when I get to see her eyes light up for even just a minute and then let her talk about whatever it is she wishes to talk about!
My Mother-in-law is 93 and still lives (alone) at home. Going to visit her is such fun for she is an "artist" and paints daily. I love to see what she does from one visit to another.
ENJOY your family
Visit them often

Jun 19, 2012, 4:46 PM EDT

hdcantrell We also have a mother in Long Term care, she is forgetful of who my husband is at times and would like to go home at the end of a visit which is so sad for us, but is treated great and lot's of activities also. She has others to visit with and they forget who she is also and that is a new friend each day. She has dementia and the cost is something, but my father in law provided for there long term care before he passed. We are blessed to still have her.

Jul 30, 2012, 2:22 PM EDT

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