Seniors

After fighting hard to live, a California man fought to die with dignity. Though medically assisted death is legal, there are still barriers.

A U.S. Senate committee is investigating "walkaway deaths" and how workforce shortages and inadequate care is affecting seniors in assisted living facilities. With 25% of California's population expected to be 60 or older by 2030, state leaders should be paying attention.

Many California caregivers are aging immigrants making near-minimum wage. Two bills to improve pay and safety could benefit elderly Californians facing a caregiver shortage.

Some seniors have been homeless for years and are now growing older. But the increasing numbers also reflect another trend: those experiencing homelessness for the first time after age 50.

The bill by two Assembly Democrats followed a CalMatters investigation that exposed serious flaws in the state’s nursing home licensing system.

In the face of overwhelming demand, a Medi-Cal program providing assisted living for low-income patients is expanding, but slowly. In the meantime, family caretakers struggle with jobs, child care and other responsibilities as they wait.

After lawmakers scaled back a California nursing homes licensing bill, critics said it would let the worst operators thrive, but other advocates insisted it was still a step in the right direction.

People with costly medical needs who make more than the income limit to qualify for free Medi-Cal may still access the program by paying a share of cost, but it’s often unaffordable. Advocates are requesting funding in this year’s budget to help those people qualify.

About 11,500 long-term care center workers are now sick with COVID. “It's been like one coworker after another, after another, everyone getting sick,” one nursing assistant said.

In a parallel problem to patient ‘dumping,’ many poor nursing home residents find themselves stuck inside facilities and unable to return home.