Medical Costs of Parents Are Children's Heaviest Burden

Middle-aged people feel most burdened by medical bills when they care for their parents, a survey suggests.

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The Life Insurance Social Contribution Committee said on Wednesday polled 1,000 people aged 40-59 who have either lived with their parents or supported them financially. Respondents selected multiple answers.

About half of the respondents ticked, "Taking care of my parents is a burden". Some 48.9 percent cited medical bills as the heaviest weight. Next came living expenses (47.6 percent), providing care (33.1 percent), and conflict (31.6 percent).

The parents of three-quarters of respondents were either hospitalized or visited hospitals for long-term treatment, and one-third said they paid for it.

About half of them spent more than W10 million, and some 8.3 percent spent more than W50 million (US$1=W1,123). About half of those who shouldered their parents' medical costs said they had difficulty affording it.

Some 42.3 percent said they have a hard time preparing for their own old age, and 30.8 percent find it hard to pay for their own children. A whopping 40.8 percent said there is family conflict.

Eighty-five percent of respondents are aware of the importance of preparing for their own medical costs in old age but admitted that this is not easy because of their own living expenses and the high cost of raising their children.