Yes. Although some elderly people have substantial assets, collect good pension and Social Security benefits, and can cover their own expenses, other people need to turn to their children for help. This is a terrible burden for children who are raising families of their own, paying mortgages, and putting kids through college.
As is typical for the United States, Americans pay the world’s highest costs for eldercare and yet the lowest level of care and satisfaction in return. All that money goes into shareholders’ pockets, not into quality of services.
Some people move in with an adult child, but that’s often not as simple as it sounds. As mobility, mental function, and activities of daily living (feeding, bathing, dressing and undressing, and toileting oneself) increasingly slip, it becomes very difficult to care for someone. The adult child needs to have enough space in his/her home to take in a relative, plus the home has to be properly equipped (no steep staircases; a walk-in shower). Also, if the adult child has a job, the elderly person gets left alone for many hours; imagine if the house catches on fire, or if someone with gets out and wanders off.