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mitch101 Posted February 2021

I Care A Lot

I Care A Lot is a recent movie depicting an attractive hustler who cherry-picks seniors who are rich and have no families, whose children do not post their difficulties on AgingCare because there's no one to fight the good fight for them. Their property and wealth taken from them, they live in a medicated haze. The focus in the movie is on the hustler but I wonder if the exorbitant pricetag for assisted living is not the hustle itself, with complicated spreadsheets, forced smiles and ever-growing amalgamations of smaller operations into their one big hustle.


I so admire every last person on AgingCare who has taken the trouble to help, who has withstood the temptation to give up and let institutions take over. I know that in many cases there is a point that institutionalization must happen, but how did this industry get so out of hand?

Geaton777 Feb 2021
mitch101, what proof do you have that they "rake in millions"? I think people believe this because the cost of care is so high and people are (rightfully) bitter about this. But remember that Medicaid reimbursement barely covers (if at all) the cost of each recipient's care. The facilities have to keep prices as low as possible or else no one could afford care at all.

My cousin is a very successful businessman in Texas. He purchased a NH. It was eye-opening. He couldn't make money and there was so much regulation (both a good and bad thing) he couldn't wait to get rid of it.

Also, I Care A Lot (which I watched the other night) is a work of fiction, starting with how the whole guardianship thing was portrayed. When my stepfather-in-law became a ward of the county (due to his own uncooperative, selfish and foolish nature) every email between us (his family) and the appointed guardian (Lutheran Social Services -- NOT a private individual) was copied to 2 other people in the organization. They are well aware that there are opportunities for abuse. After my SFIL passed, the guardian provided a detailed accounting of what costs his care incurred and how his very meager SS was spent towards it. People should not trust tv shows to be accurately informed about anything. Entertainment producers have to make up drama to make it interesting, or no one would watch it.

mitch101 Feb 2021
It came out in 2020 and recently showed up on Netflix. I manage a free (tax-paid) library loan program to assisted living institutions. They all cancelled this free library service due to, in *every* case, $35 lost-book bills that they just couldn't find the money to pay. These places rake in millions and it just kills me. I'm glad the place you found for your brother got things right, though.

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AlvaDeer Feb 2021
There is little regulation for Assisted Living Facilities, very unlike Nursing Homes, which have a lot of regulations. There are many things to pay great attention to when interviewing a facility. It is definitely a learning process. The facility my brother was in could not have been better in any way. I was speaking just yesterday about one of the many things they "got right".
I am not familiar with the film you mention,nor where to find said film. More information would be so helpful if you are able to supply it.

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