By proceeding, I agree that I understand the following disclosures:
I. How We Work in Washington. Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services. APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid. We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour. APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment. You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints. Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or
[email protected] to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights. APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.I agree that: A.I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information"). B.APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink. C.APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site. D.If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records. E.This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year. F.You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
*If I am consenting on behalf of someone else, I have the proper authorization to do so. By clicking Get My Results, you agree to our
Privacy Policy. You also consent to receive calls and texts, which may be autodialed, from us and our customer communities. Your consent is not a condition to using our service. Please visit our
Terms of Use. for information about our privacy practices.
It is also on the WSJ Facebook account age.
https://m.facebook.com/WSJ/
Amy Goyer
is AARP’s family and caregiving expert. She has written two books on the subject and has her own consulting business.
“I am a caregiving expert. How did I end up in bankruptcy?” she says.
Ms. Goyer depleted her savings and ended up relying on credit cards after being financially drained by costs related to caring for her parents. After more than a decade of caring for her mom, who had a stroke, and her dad, who had Alzheimer’s, Ms. Goyer filed for bankruptcy protection in 2019.
Ms. Goyer started a consulting business, which gave her more flexibility to care for her parents.
She describes the bankruptcy experience as humiliating and embarrassing. But she says it shows how the unexpected costs of daily caregiving can accumulate over time and overwhelm even the most experienced of the nation’s 53 million family caregivers.
Family caregivers are the backbone of the nation’s long-term care system and provide an estimated $470 billion worth of free care—often at great personal cost. On average, caregivers spend 26% of their personal income on caregiving expenses, according to a 2021 AARP study, with most personal spending going to housing, including home modifications. A third of caregivers dip into their personal savings, like bank accounts, to cover costs, and 12% take out a loan or borrow from family or friends.
Newsletter Sign-up
The 10-Point.
A personal, guided tour to the best scoops and stories every day in The Wall Street Journal.
“I don’t think people understand how expensive caregiving is,” says Jean Chatzky, founder of HerMoney.com, a digital media company focused on women and personal finance.
Ms. Chatzky and others say family members incorrectly assume Medicare will pay for long-term care in nursing homes or in-home help, only to be surprised when a relative falls ill or needs that kind of care. Private long-term-care insurance picks up some of those costs, but the amount varies depending on the plan.
Caregiving is becoming more expensive because people are living longer with more complicated medical needs and hiring help costs more. The median annual cost of in-home care rose to $54,912 in 2020, an 18.5% increase from 2016, according to Genworth, a long-term-care insurance company.
The financial strain is widespread. Although the average caregiver is 49, about 23% percent are millennials, who have had less time in the workforce to build financial security. Concerns about the toll on family caregivers led to a recently introduced bipartisan Credit for Caring Act that would provide a tax credit of up to $5,000 to eligible working caregivers.
Ms. Goyer displays photos of her parents, Robert and Patricia Goyer.
Ms. Goyer began her caregiving from a distance. Her parents lived in Phoenix. She lived in Alexandria, Va., and worked in Washington for the AARP. While her sisters pitched in, Ms. Goyer, who was single, childless and had a background in aging, managed their care and ultimately financed a large part of it.
At first, she would fly to Arizona several times a year, but began coming monthly as her parents’ health declined. Her mother, Patricia, who had a stroke at the age of 63, had frequent hospitalizations, and her dad’s cognitive abilities began slipping. In 2009, the doctor said that he had Alzheimer’s and that he should stop driving.
“That is when everything changed. I picked up my life and moved,” says Ms. Goyer.
Costs start to mount
She left her full-time position at AARP and started a consulting business, which gave her more flexibility to care for her parents but also meant added costs for things like health insurance.
She found a continuing-care community for her parents and moved into their house, taking over the mortgage and bills, while maintaining her Washington-area apartment to be close to her clients and boyfriend.
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS
What advice do you have on managing the emotional and financial costs of caregiving? Join
I hope this woman does not do consulting regarding elderly care because she is not an expert at all.
And a 5000 deductible from the government is just a lame joke. Clearly they have no clue how much caregiving costs and it is certainly more that 5000 a year.