On this week’s Need to Know, Karla Murthy reports from California about one family dealing with the emotional and financial stresses of caring for a chronically ill parent.
aging

Medicare: Past, present and future
Medicare and what to do about it is one of the most bedevilling issues facing the nation. Both political parties and interest groups from the AARP to the AMA are trying to find a way to shore up the increasingly expensive program. There’s no denying that Medicare is a popular program.

The long view
More than 10 million people in the United States already have long-term health care needs, and that number is only going to grow as baby boomers and their parents live longer.

Right at home
The small state of Rhode Island may have found an innovative way to save money while providing better care with better results. They’re paying loved ones – like family members – to stay at home and take care of the elderly.

Interview: Robyn Stone
Robyn Stone served in the Clinton White House as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Disability, Aging and Long-term Care Policy and is now the Executive Director of the Leading Age Center for Applied Research. Find out more about long-term care and other pressing medical issues from the series Prescription America.

American Voices: Lynn Reichgott
Being able to age in place is being able to stay in your home in the community where you live or where you choose to live.

Need to Know, September 17, 2010
This week on Need to Know: Soldiers on the front lines in Afghanistan. Neglect and abuse in adult family homes. And Andy Borowitz looks back at his best prognostications.

Cottage industry: Neglect and abuse in adult family homes
An alternative to nursing homes, state-licensed “adult family homes” house up to six seniors in private homes in Washington State. But Seattle Times investigative reporter Michael Berens found the homes rife with abuse and neglect.