Seth Rogen Shouldn’t Be Surprised
The fact that a Hollywood actor testified before Congress is not anything new. Actor, Seth Rogen spoke before a Congressional appropriations subcommittee a couple of weeks ago about the need to devote more funds and attention to fighting Alzheimer’s Disease.
But what created more of a stir was Rogen’s comments afterwards about his disappointment that only 2 of the 18 subcommittee members were in attendance. As Rogen cited, deaths from Alzheimer’s and other dementia related diseases have increased 70% in the past 15 years while deaths from other common diseases and illnesses such as heart disease, have declined. Studies have also shown that Alzheimer’s is more costly than other illnesses and diseases.
Rogen described his mother-in-law’s struggle with the disease which was diagnosed when she was in her early 50’s. The illness is now in an advanced stage and while Rogen and his wife – as he puts it – do very well and can afford the cost of care, most families do not have the financial resources that he has.
Certainly, the committee’s nonattendance is evidence of the low priority that Congress has place on funding Alzheimer’s research and addressing the long term care crisis that is only getting worse in this country. But, the general population is probably not all that different. Long term care is still a topic that families ignore until circumstances force them to deal with it.
So many people that we speak with still have the naïve belief that the government will step in and help when they have no money to pay for care. But, as Rogen’s observations and comments show, that just isn’t the case . The government isn’t really paying much closer attention to the ticking time bomb of long term care anymore than the average American is. Maybe that will change but the government usually acts 2 or 3 steps behind – not ahead – of the curve.
If you are waiting for the government to solve the problem, you could be in for a long wait. Better to address a long term care plan yourself, ideally before your loved one is at the advanced stages of the disease that Rogen’s mother-in-law is, unless you have the ability, as Rogen does, to create huge sums of money making – as he describes it – “genetalia driven comedies”.