one that's growing as the baby boom population# ages and one with big financial costs.
William Brangham looks at the impact this is## having on middle-class Americans and how# WI LLIAM BRANGHAM: The numbers alone give a# very stark sense of what America is facing.## Between now and 2030, every single day,# about 10,000 Baby Boomers will turn 65.
By 2050, there will be 85 million Americans 65 and## over.
Nineteen million of them# will be 85 or older.
Already,## the total cost of long-term care for the elderly# is around half-a-trillion dollars every year.
A new series by KFF Health News and# The New York Times called "Dying## Broke" looks at the financial and emotional# consequences of inadequate long-term care,## a circumstance that often leaves# middle-class Americans in financial ruin.
The series profiles people who have had to# spend down their life savings to qualify## for government help, and it reveals a# largely broken private insurance market.
Jordan Rau of KFF Health News was one# of the lead reporters on this series.
Jordan, thank you so much for being here.
The series title, "Dying Broke," is so sobering,# as are many you tell.
Broadly speaking, can you lay# out the problem that you document here?
JORDAN RAU, Senior Correspondent, KFF# Health News: Thanks for having me.
What our series looked at was long-term ca need personal aides because they can't do basic# activities of daily life, like making meals,## getting up, going to the bathrooms, or people# that have cognitive impairments like dementia.
And a lot of people think# that Medicare covers this,## but that's not the case.
It doesn't cove in support for American families.
Some people# have taken out long-term care insurance, but,## in fact, that's a small amount, and that# market is pretty broken and doesn't work.
And so, as you said, a lot of people end# up just being left to their own devices.## They spend enormous amounts# of their own life savings,## and often they have to rely on friends# or family.
And a lot of the series## looked at the family members who have made# enormous sacrifices to help their parents.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Yes, one of the# many stories -- they're all quite## profound -- but one of the stories you tell is# Ca n you tell us a little bit about their story?
JORDAN RAU: Sure.
Gay moved from Chica And so she moved there to both help her and# also to sort out her finances.
The nursing## home costs over $10,000 a month.
And she had# to hire a lawyer, as many people have to do, just to figure out how to get her mother to# a point where she could qualify for Medicaid.
So, Medicaid, as we touched on, is# the federal-state program that does## cover -- provide long-term care for people,# but you have to have almost no assets in many## states and very little income.
So# you basically have to be destitute.
And Gay was working on this.
At the same time,## she had to figure out what to do with# her mother's house, and she had to## give up a lot of her own career and personal# desires to help her she was living in -- her mother had a very modest# rental apartment, and Gay was living there.
And because of the Medicaid rules, she# actually had to be paying rent to her mother,## and struggling with all that.
And she spent# -- the mother ended up spending down being## on Medicaid.
And then, right before she died,# they sold the house, and she was off Me So it was really a complete view of# just how Byzantine this system is## for people and how draining it could# be both emotionally and financially.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Byzantine# is such a good word for it.
I mean, if a family finds that they do have# what's the range of costs# they could expect to pay?
JORDAN RAU: Well, it depends# on what your care choice is.
So you can try and have aides at home.
And# that's difficult to find of such a shortage.
Many people want# to go into assisted living facilities,## which are a step less intense than a# skilled nursing facility.
And those## facilities can cost anywhere -- $3,000# is the bare minimum almost everywhere.
And if you have dementia or extensive# needs, it can be as high as $15,000 a## month.
So that's what people are# looking for.
And the same thing,## depending on how much care you need -- if you# thought you could get 24-hour personal care## at home, it can be as expensive.
So it could be# debilitating for all but the very richest A WILLIAM BRANGHAM: And what are the other kinds of# experiences?
I know you profiled a whole slew of## families, but can you tell us a little bit about# some of the other experiences that people had?
JORDAN RAU: We had -- we wrote about# people who went into assisted living## facilities.
And the way that they were billed,## they were often charged very specific# moments for every minute that they got care.
And that was in the original contracts.# But as their needs increased and got worse,## often, the costs would increase# astronomically.
So we wrote a## lot about them and also about that industry,# which is a very profitable one owned very large real estate investment trusts,# a number of them, not all the facilities.
And we also looked at whether those places always## deliver on the care that they promised# that WILLIAM BRANGHAM: You also detail# a few different attempts during## the Obama administration and then more# recently in try to address this.
And either those efforts# either failed to launch or never were passed.
But you also report how the way that the# U.S. cares for its elderly population is## so different than our other peer nations in# Europe and elsewhere.
Can you explain that?
JORDAN RAU: Sure.
So, wealthy nations.
Now, at the very -- the# most lavish, the most generous are -- is## a place like the Netherlands, where they# have a publicly funded insurance program,## as well as other programs.
And# you're really taking care of well.
But other places, other countries have a whole# skew of things that we in Japan, they assign a care manager# to help you navigate this Byzantine## system that we talked about.
And other# places have more generous financial aid,## so that you don't have to be totally bankrupt.
And so that's what -- we looked around at other## countries and really found the United# States far WILLIAM BRANGHAM: All right, the# series is called "Dying Broke."
Jordan Rau of KFF Health News,# thank you so JORDAN RAU: Thank you so much for having me.