Donna Nickerson spent her last working years as the activity and social services director at a Turlock, California, nursing home.
But when she developed Alzheimer's disease and needed that kind of care herself, she and her husband couldn't afford it: A bed at a nearby home cost several thousand dollars a month.
“I'm not a wealthy man,” said Nickerson's husband Mel, a retired California State University-Stanislaus professor. “There's no way I could pay for that.”
Experts estimate that about half of all people turning 65 today will need daily help as they age, either at home or in nursing homes. Such long-term care will cost an average of about $91,000 for men and double that for women, because they live longer.
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