Timeline: A history of elder care in America

How to care for an aging loved one is a thorny question, and an eternal one.

In the early days of republic, seniors relied on the support of family, and if they didn't have that option, then they were shuttled to the poorhouse. But a revolution in how we understand the elderly, the biology of aging, the specific needs of older poor and the role of the government in caring for the vulnerable means we are now growing older in an entirely new world. 

From the epochal Social Security Act and Medicare and Medicaid, to the birth of new ideas and industries of care, these are some of the more significant milestones in how America has looked after its seniors: