Target: Mehmet Oz, Director of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Goal: Add long-term elder care to Medicare benefits.
Over $300,000 during a lifetime and over $7,000 in costs per year in lost wages and retirement security: it’s the daughterhood penalty, and it’s the consequence of a glaring gap in long-term elder care in America. Roughly 70 percent of elderly Americans will need long-term care during their lifetimes. And over 70 percent of this care will be provided unpaid by family caregivers, usually adult daughters.
Since the care may last years, adult caregivers will often accumulate large bills. In addition, their career prospects suffer as well, particularly for young women who must juggle elder caregiving with job and childcare responsibilities. The number of hours these women can work may take a hit, as can career advancement opportunities. Some women are eventually forced to leave the workplace entirely. And elderly Americans who do not have children are often left entirely without support.
Many Americans are unaware that these crippling expenses are not even covered by Medicare, which is supposed to provide a critical support line for Americans during their golden years. Sign the petition below to demand more be done to help caretakers shoulder an untenable burden.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Dr. Oz,
“If you don’t have a daughter or a son, or somebody who’s willing to step up and just do what has to be done, there’s no system.”
“I’m doing this because I love my dad. But it’s a bad situation and, honestly, I don’t know what the solution is. I kind of just accept that it sucks.”
“I’m not going to let him die just so I can have my career back.”
These are just some of the anecdotes from scores of American women who have put their careers, their life responsibilities, and their future security on hold so they can care for ailing parents…many of whom fear entering their golden years with no support or aid. The so-called “daughterhood penalty” strips family caregivers (usually female) of $300,000 in lifetime earnings, of $7,000-plus per year in added medical expenses, and of stability and assurance that can impact the rest of their lives. If leadership ever wants to help correct this disparity, it must begin by making long-term elder care a high priority for Medicare reform.
It is past time to stop punishing women for being the heart and soul of family life.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Matthias Zomer
