When the author and his wife were thrust into the role of caring for their aging parents, he saw first-hand what it meant to battle often indifferent doctors, insurance companies, and nursing homes. He learned what it was like to fight through the emotional pain, and discovered how the irrational way we deliver and pay for long-term care in the United States drives people to the wrong care, in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

Someone you love will almost certainly need long-term care before they die. Nearly seventy percent of our parents will rely on this assistance sometime during their old age. It will last for an average of three years, and one in five will depend on it for five years or more. This book tells the sometimes painful, sometimes uplifting, and always compelling stories of the families who struggle every day to care for their loved ones.

It also tells how the elderly and disabled, as well as their families, are being financially ruined by the high cost of long-term care. It reveals how private long-term care insurance has failed to protect most middle-class Americans from these catastrophic expenses, and how the weight of seventy-seven million aging Baby Boomers will devastate Medicaid, our nation’s already fragile public system for funding this critical day-to-day assistance. And it shows how we can repair the tattered safety net that is so essential to the well-being of our aged and disabled.

"Longtime Business Week health reporter Gleckman takes readers on a guided tour of group homes, nursing homes, assisted living and the differences between Medicare, Medicaid and long-term care insurance in his comprehensive overview of the current state of long-term care in the U.S. Through interviews with family caregivers, professionals, the cared-for and reformers seeking alternatives to the current system, Gleckman does an impressive job of explaining our current elder-care system and those of other developed nations, and proposes possible solutions to an issue of growing importance as boomers become seniors. (June)" Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

“Compelling personal stories, helpful information about where to turn for assistance, and ideas for ways to strengthen the safety net that too often fails families facing crisis. Caring for Our Parents is a book for everyone, but particularly for Boomers with aging parents or loved ones, and for our elected representatives who need guidance on how we can do better.”--John Rother, Executive Vice-President AARP

“There are lots of books about eldercare, but none like Caring for Our Parents. By telling his personal story and those of others, Howard Gleckman helps us understand why caring for our parents is such a challenge. This is a must read for every Baby Boomer.”--Suzanne Mintz, President, National Family Caregivers Association

“Although the U.S. spends far more on health care than other country, its treatment of millions of elderly and disabled is shameful. Even when families are willing and able to provide care at home, the ‘system makes it nearly impossible. In this well-written and compassionate book, Howard Gleckman doesnt just describe the problem, he expands our vision of what long-term care should be.”--Kathleen A. Kelly, Executive Director, Family Caregiver Alliance/National Center on Caregiving

“Howard Gleckman knows firsthand about caring for his elderly parents. In his illuminating Caring for Our Parents, Gleckman shines a spotlight on the financial and physical price we pay to help our loved ones in a fractured and inadequate network of long-term care services. As he profiles families who meet those challenges with love, determination, and grace, he raises important questions about how our nation will cope as the enormous Baby Boomer generation ages. Caring for our Parents is a wake-up call to a graying nation.”--Mary Beth Franklin, Senior Editor, Kiplinger's Personal Finance

“Compelling personal stories, helpful information about where to turn for assistance, and ideas for ways to strengthen the safety net that too often fails families facing crisis. Caring for Our Parents is a book for everyone, but particularly for Boomers with aging parents or loved ones, and for our elected representatives who need guidance on how we can do better.”--John Rother, Executive Vice-President, AARP

This book tells the sometimes painful, sometimes uplifting, and always compelling stories of the families who struggle every day to care for their loved ones. The author argues that the aging Baby Boomers will devastate the Medicaid system if it is not repaired.