Some have compared long-term care financing in America as the equivalent to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Well, above is a photo of the last Titanic survivor, Millvina Dean, age 96, who sold her Titanic keepsakes at auction recently, so she can afford care in England. When she was two-months old, she arrived in New York with her mother and brother after surviving the Titanic sinking. City residents gave them a suitcase full of donated clothing to help rebuild their life.Now, more than 96 years later, that gift is helping her pay for care. Dean sold the small wicker suitcase, along with other mementos of the doomed ocean liner, at auction last two weeks ago to help pay her nursing home fees. The sale raised $53,906 – ten times the amount she had hoped to make. The suitcase alone sold for $18,650.In the U.S., that amount would pay for just a year of assisted living. Just think how many seniors will have to give up their most cherished items to pay for care. We can do better as a country than having people give up lifelong keepsakes to pay for their care and simply rearranging the chairs on the deck of the Titanic.

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