Caring for ageing parents is becoming a financial nightmare in the US. Here’s what we can do | Courtney E Martin

Most families have little saved for retirement – and face unfair shame for it. It’s time to cut the bootstrap rhetoric

What does it cost to age with dignity?

It’s an urgent question as the youngest baby boomers approach 65 and their adult children prepare to take on their care.

Day programs. Day programs for elders, like those for kids, are a fantastic community resource. Publicly funded transportation can take elders to a center designed with their joy and capacity in mind. My dad went to one such program and it was a balm; he sang karaoke, he saw the on-staff nurse when needed, and I was able to get some work done without him joining my Zoom calls. What’s more, according to recent estimates, the median day program costs $100 a day v about $200 for assisted living and more than $200 for in-home care. Day programs, vastly underfunded in most states, are a great way to keep elders ageing in place, prevent loneliness, and make sure family caregivers don’t burn out or have to quit their jobs.

Worker-owned home healthcare. There’s a care workforce shortage for good reason; too many of these jobs aren’t good jobs. One small but growing part of the home healthcare market consists of worker-owned cooperatives, where professional caregivers are the leaders of their own organizations – setting hourly rates, vacation and sick leave policies, and training approaches. These organizations are shown to have far better worker retention than traditional care companies and, of course, it’s a boon to family caregivers to know that the person taking care of their loved one feels empowered and will stick around.

Public long-term care insurance. Washington is the first state in the country to create public long-term care for its full-time workers, WACares. By contributing a small amount (0.58%) from wages to the fund, Washingtonians earn a long-term care benefit (up to $36,500) for when they need it. This could be a test case for other states that want to be humane places for people to age.

Courtney E Martin has a weekly newsletter called Examined Family. Her most recent book is Learning in Public: Lessons for a Racially Divided America From My Daughter’s School

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