A Looming Crisis In Home Health Care For The Elderly

Published February 27, 2018 at 10:00 AM CST

Nurse practitioner Dwayne Dobschuetz, left, visits patient Marvin Shimp, at Shimp's home in Chicago on Jan. 10, 2018. Shimp has lost much of his vision to macular degeneration and Dobschuetz's house calls help him stay out of the hospital with regular visits to check vitals and answer questions. Dobschuetz sees several patients in their homes each day, traveling by bicycle. He works at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, which is taking a new approach to helping older patients stay healthier. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford)

Keeping the elderly in their own homes. Most of us want to. But who will care for them? And what about the costs? The crisis in home health care.

This show airs Tuesday at 11 a.m. EST.

Guests:

E. Tammy Kim, writer and fellow at the Investigative Fund of the Nation Institute. ( @etammykim)

Paul Osterman, co-director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan Institute for Work and Employment Research, author of “Who Will Care For Us: Long Term Care And The Long Term Workforce.” ( @ostermanpaul)

Tyheera Sanders, home care worker.

From The Reading List:

Bloomberg Businessweek: Americans Will Struggle To Grow Old At Home — “Eighty million people in the U.S. will be 65 or older within a few decades, compared with around 50 million today, and, according to surveys conducted by AARP Inc., the desire to grow old at home is almost universal.”

Most people want to grow old in the comfort of our own home. But staying at home often requires a home health aide. They’re expensive. Often hard to find. On the flip side, they’re low paid, poorly trained, and get little respect. And soon, there won’t even be enough of them to offer that needed care. So who will take care of us in the most vulnerable time of our lives? This hour, On Point: the exploding crisis in home health care. — Jane Clayson