A friend of mine is being run ragged, caring for her elderly father. It's a bit like having a very large three year old in the house, except he isn't going to outgow it.

Two years ago, her father, a very active man, who lived on his own, and enjoyed hiking the Appalachian trail, went in for what was supposed to be routine surgery. It might have been routine for someone who wasn't well into his eighties. It was not routine for him. Several things went seriously wrong. He was in the hospital for months. While there he picked up a nasty infection. He ran through his health insurance.
Now he is living at his daughter's. His mind is going. He can't take care of himself. It will never get better. It will, certainly, get worse. A nursing home is not an option, because his health insurance is gone. He can see the doctor, because he's a veteran. It might have been better if he hadn't had the routine surgery.
I think we can do better.