John Oliver rips long-term care (LTC) industry

[tenant13]

There's plenty of threads about LTC on the forum. I had no clue where to post it so it doesn't get lost in the shuffle. It's good reporting and hair raising prospects for the future with no easy solutions.

As a single guy with the history of dementia in my family and first signs of arthritis setting in I'm not looking forward to any of that. Thankfully I already had one heart attack so fingers crossed, that's what's going to save me from the indignities of nursing homes. In the meantime I'm enjoying my life as much as I can.

 

[RetireeRobert]

Who is John Oliver? Never heard of him.

 

[truenorth418]

Who is John Oliver? Never heard of him.

I’m not sure but I think he’s a comedian from England. No idea what makes him an authority on LTC.
.

 

[MichaelB]

A thoughtful discussion would benefit greatly if the OP would at least give us a summary or highlights of the link.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

John Oliver is a comedian and actor who turned his riffs on topics into funny news segments, in the same vein as Jon Stewart, Trevor Noah, and Samantha Bee. I think he actually does a very good job balancing comedy with in-depth reporting; in fact, while they all do a pretty good job of it, I think he is the more informative of them, generally spending more time explaining each issue.

 

[donheff]

John Oliver is a comedian and actor who turned his riffs on topics into funny news segments, in the same vein as Jon Stewart, Trevor Noah, and Samantha Bee. I think he actually does a very good job balancing comedy with in-depth reporting; in fact, while they all do a pretty good job of it, I think he is the more informative of them, generally spending more time explaining each issue.

+1 He was on the Daily Show for many years and then branched off on his own. His in depth segments are always informative and often infuriating.

 

[tenant13]

A thoughtful discussion would benefit greatly if the OP would at least give us a summary or highlights of the link.

I haven't aimed for having a discussion. This is just a link to the report where Oliver - using news clips and digging deep into regulations - highlights current practices of financing LTR, analyzes costs vs benefits and presents examples of LT residents systematic (mis)treatments. He also mentions one way how the current system could be improved given that 94% of elderly do not want to live in retirement facilities: by letting Medicaid finance home care. Is he an expert in the field? No, just a sharp journalist. Are there elements of comedy in this report? Yes, indeed there are and that's one thing that makes this report bearable.

 

[braumeister]

I haven't aimed for having a discussion. This is just a link to the report

Understood. But I think the point is that hardly anyone here is going to watch a 22 minute video without being given a good reason.

 

[tenant13]

Understood. But I think the point is that hardly anyone here is going to watch a 22 minute video without being given a good reason.

I actually assumed that John Oliver's name would have been that "good reason". My mistake.

 

[JoeWras]

I miss the days when comedians were comedians. Sure, they could spoof one party or candidate, but they usually spoofed equally. ("Family Guy" still tries for this.)

Those days are gone and comedians just prosthelytize. Maybe Mr. Oliver has a good message here, but I won't give it a click because I don't want to support this constant comedian-agenda behavior.

 

[Time2]

I actually assumed that John Oliver's name would have been that "good reason". My mistake.

Beat me to that!

 

[Ready2Go]

Not a fan of the guy. The snarky tone turns me off.

 

[razztazz]

Not a fan of the guy. The snarky tone turns me off.

I'm generally not a fan of that brand of humor from anyone but these days it appears to be the "industry standard."

 

[CaptTom]

I watch most of his segments. Yeah, they're a bit foul-mouthed and the humor is pretty snarky. But it's probably the only way to hold an audience's interest for the deep dives he does. It's generally pretty good journalism.

But not always. There have been segments of his I've stopped watching part-way through, and others I didn't bother to even start. That's OK. We can't all agree.

This, however, is a totally non-partisan issue. Or should be. I don't know of anyone saying things are great the way they are, except maybe those who are profiting off the misery of elderly patients and their families.

We (as a society) should have the debate. John has presented some facts and some possible solutions. Let's hear others. We won't improve things by locking ourselves into diametrically opposed partisan positions and never listening to the "other side."

 

[bclover]

I'm a fan of John, mainly because he is usually discussing something that no one wants to talk about. This is absolutely no different.

Now I'm more like @capttom, to dismiss him just because you may not like his "brand" of humor does a huge disservice.

He is spot on, I'm fighting this battle now, with my mother in law who's in a nursing home and receiving what I feel is the minimum care that won't get some one charged. my poor sister in law is scrambling to find alternatives.


We treat our elders abysmally.

I do find it interesting that more folks seem to be upset about the comedian than the content.

 

[JoeWras]

Discourse in America -- and the world -- has gone down the drain. I respect that people enjoy Mr. Oliver and comedian driven news, and get information from it. I just ask that they respect my opinion that I don't want to support that brand of discourse. And BTW, the comments above are respectful of my opinion, thank you. I'm talking in general.

Sadly, respectful discourse is getting rare among those with loud voices, so I guess I'm out of luck.