Could things get worse for ailing seniors? Yes

Whenever I criticized my son for doing something that rubbed me the wrong way, he calmly told me: "Relax, Dad. It's an education." He was right, of course. Anything that happens in this world is an education.

For instance, there's the stroke that changed my active, mentally alert sister into a person who could not walk, read, write or express herself, even though she was aware of everything around her. That truly painful education included two rehabilitation centers, two hospitals, a nursing home, emergency surgery, and ultimately hospice care.

I'm grateful to the conscientious nurses and health-care workers who did their best to keep her comfortable through her ordeal, but I'm furious, frustrated, and embittered by a system that allows a person's life savings to be drained away simply because he or she had the misfortune to be struck by a catastrophic illness.

Medicare coverage is fine as far as it goes, but when it's used up, you're on your own. As a Board of Education employee in Philadelphia for 35 years, my sister was fortunate enough to have saved a modest amount of money, which seemed quite substantial at the time. But when the nursing home began sending bills between $7,500 and $9,000 a month - an average of almost $100,000 a year - it suddenly became obvious that her "substantial" savings would go down the drain very quickly. If she lived three more years, she'd be penniless and wind up on government Medicaid.

Seniors like my sister face financial ruin. Our government's policy forces people in her condition to be virtually broke before they are eligible for financial help. Under Medicaid rules, most nursing-home residents are allowed to have no more than $2,000 in savings. Although Medicaid imposes severe limits on gifts, under current rules assets can be distributed if the senior retains enough funds to pay privately for care until mandatory penalty periods have expired.

The federal government is considering changes that would create even greater hardships for seniors dealing with long-term illness. For example, the new rules would put even tighter restrictions on asset transfers. These proposals have been pushed by lobbyists and commentators who paint a picture of "wealthy and greedy seniors" taking advantage of the Medicaid system. A Feb. 24 editorial in the Wall Street Journal condemned the prevalence of "Medicaid for millionaires." In reality, millionaires can afford 24-hour home care or an assisted-living facility. But most seniors lack the financial means to do so.

It's so wrong for our government to tell its citizens: Work hard, save your money, attain the American dream - so that when you're old and sick we can take it all away from you, including your pride and dignity.

People who work hard all of their lives should have access to needed care without impoverishing themselves. They followed the rules. They paid their taxes, raised their families, and served their country during wartime. We shouldn't punish their virtue. It's immoral and un-American. We are the richest nation on Earth. We send billions of dollars in aid around the world. It's time that we took care of our own.