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Long Term Care Unaffordable for Many California Seniors

Long Term Care Unaffordable for Many California Seniors
A new report reveals the cost of long-term in-home care is unaffordable for many California seniors who need it. The study from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research offers a county-by-county breakdown.

A new report reveals the cost of long-term in-home care is unaffordable for many California seniors who need it. The study from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research offers a county-by-county breakdown.

The report shows in San Diego County, the annual cost of 16 hours a week of in-home care is nearly $19,000. When you add living expenses on top of that, the total costs are more than twice the average income of a disabled senior living alone.

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UCLA public health professor Steven Wallace wrote the study.

"If you're not poor enough to qualify for Medi-Cal, and you're not solidly middle class enough to afford to pay for your own services, you're really sort of left in the lurch," says Wallace.

Wallace says Medi-Cal only picks up the tab for the poorest of seniors. Governor Schwarzenegger wants to eliminate that support to help balance the budget.