It’s National Poverty in America Awareness Month and this could have a direct and significant impact on elder care. You might think it doesn’t apply to you, but you may be surprised to learn that it can affect you or your loved one’s elder care.
In the United States, health care is considered costly for millions of Americans. If you don’t have health insurance, it can mean that you don’t have access to important medical care that could potentially save your life. Other people who have insurance may find themselves in a situation where their insurance only covers certain expenses and then ‘caps out,’ meaning that anything above a certain threshold of expense would have to be covered out of pocket by the patient. This can leave many elderly people broke within a matter of months.
Health care has become so expensive that it has pushed thousands of families and especially elderly individuals into poverty as a result. It’s one of the driving factors behind the Affordable Care Act, more commonly referred to as Obamacare. Regardless of what you may think about the Affordable Care Act, the intention was to help everyone gain access to affordable health coverage.
Poor people in this country already have access to federal medical coverage, known as Medicare and Medicaid. The requirements for each vary and I’m not going to get into the specifics of it all in this article. However, do you know what the poverty threshold is right now in the United States? If not, then that could be something that you could look up to become familiar with what some families may be enduring as a result.
The idea behind this is not to warrant sympathy or to point out flaws in a system that is still considered the best health care system in the world, but to help people become more aware of the plight that other face in the U.S. If you have elderly home care for your loved one, it makes a different, most likely. For some people, they don’t think that they can afford it. The truth is that home care for the elderly is often far more affordable that many people realize.
When it comes to poverty in America and elder care, there could be some important things that you could do to help another family. Talk it over with your elderly loved one. You may just find something you two can share in helping someone else.
If you have a loved one who could benefit from the help of home care services in Houston, TX contact the caregivers at At Your Side Home Care. We help seniors and their families with many levels of home care service. Call (832) 271-1600 for more information.
Our Certified Nurse Aides, 24-Hour Live-in Assistants and Home Health Aides are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We also provide the security and confidence of 24-hour Telephone Assistance, so fast, reliable help is always available when it's needed. To learn more about our homecare services see our homecare services page.
Different people need different levels of homecare. To meet the requirements of our clients, At Your Side Homecare maintains consistent staffing levels of caring professionals. Homecare service is available for as little as a few hours a week, or as many as 24 hours a day, seven days a week
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