Eldercare in the United States: Inadequate, Inequitable, but Not a Lost Cause

Abstract

Eldercare, like other forms of care work, is often taken for granted and undervalued. The burdens as well as the failures of providing care for the elderly are often borne disproportionately by women. This paper documents inequality of access and low quality of care for the elderly in the United States. It argues that public funds used to subsidize nursing homes are poorly spent and that profit-maximizing competition in the nursing home industry adversely affects the quality of care provided. In seeking to address these problems, policy-makers can learn important lessons from several different sources. The experiences of several European countries, current regulatory efforts in the state of Massachusetts, and more decentralized volunteer efforts to promote humane visions of eldercare all offer some hope for the future.

Keywords:

• Eldercare
• care work
• nursing homes
• long-term care
• public policy

Notes

Questions about this article may be sent to: Nancy Folbre, Department of Economics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA. Email: [email protected]

JEL Codes: J14, I38, J16

In China, as Zhan and Montgomery (2003) note, the increased number of women workers since the Cultural Revolution has meant that not only sons but daughters are considered financially responsible for aging.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Susan C Eaton

Questions about this article may be sent to: Nancy Folbre, Department of Economics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA. Email: [email protected] JEL Codes: J14, I38, J16