Cost of Elderly Care Is Double Prior Estimates

November 20, 2007

The out-of-pocket cost of caring for an aging parent or spouse averages $5,531 a year, according to the nation’s first in-depth study of such expenses, a sum that is more than double previous estimates and more than the average American household spends each year on health care and entertainment combined.

Family members responsible for ailing loved ones provide not only “hands on” care, but reach often into their own pockets to pay for many other expenses of care recipients, including groceries and household goods, drugs and medical co-payments and transportation, which nudges the average cost of long-distance caregiving to $8,728 a year. (New York Times)