Major health care plans, such as Medicare and Medicaid, are being drawn from by the elderly, as they are supposed to, but at a rate to greater than taxpayers are paying for the programs. As these troubles continue, major changes will have to be taking place in the near future to prevent a collapse in health care and an increase in our nations debts. Programs such as Medicare are currently what are running our nation’s health care and preventing complete economic failure. If a person is over the age of 65, fit the government’s standards of disabled, or are deemed poor by the United States Government,
There has been a long term decline in the number of births since the 1900, in that year, England and Wales had a birth rate of 28.7, but by 2007 it had fallen to 10.7. There have been fluctuation in birth rates due to the Baby booms in the 20th century. The first two baby boom happened after the war, this is due to service men returning home to their partner and they started the families that they postponed during the war years. The third baby boom in the 1960s, after which the birth rate fell shapely during the 1970. The rate rose during the 1980s, before falling again after the early 1990s, with a recent increase since 2001.
The status and role of the elderly in the future will increase because the birthrate has dropped to an all-time low. b. There will be an elderly revolution, termed the “silver-haired rebellion,” which will place much of the lost power and status back into the hands of the older segment of society. c. As the rate of technological change accelerates, knowledge quickly becomes obsolete, and this decreases the status and role of the elderly (they are no longer the storage houses of technological knowledge; libraries and databanks have taken over this role). d. In the future, there will be a major reorganization of kinship and the family, which will restore power to the elderly.
Health care costs are rising; the debt deficit is higher, and the secure futures for the old and young are at jeopardy. There is even talk that my generation may not have social security benefits because of the already retired Boomers since 2006 and the high number of Boomers still remaining to retire in the near
Demographic Paper By Tina M. Borges University of Phoenix HCS/490 Health Care Consumer: Trends and Marketing October 4, 2011 Carol Sweigert “Ageing populations in developed countries are being driven by strong social and structural demographic movement leading to a significant growth in the over 65 population (de Castries, 2009 p. 24)”. The United States over the last several decades has also had an increase in the older population which has created the need for long-term health care. The demographic changes have also shifted from infectious diseases amongst the population to chronic illness due to the growth in older adults within the United States. Most of the health care expenditures in the United States come from the elderly
citizens, universal healthcare would significantly lower healthcare costs for both the individual and the government. Without a doubt, something should be done to fix the current healthcare system; it is just a matter of what should be done. Over the past several years, the cost of healthcare in the U.S. has risen significantly and does not seem to lower, surpassing “$2.2 trillion in 2007” (An). This ever-increasing cost has caused less and less coverage, being unaffordable to more and more people; “The average American spends about $7,900 dollars per year on healthcare” (Sanders). Though healthcare is currently very costly, studies show that universal healthcare would be cheaper than the current privatized system (Conor).
Finally, one of the last reasons for the nursing shortage is the decline in relative earning (Williams &ump; Torrens, page 284). The actual earnings for RNs increased steadily from 1983 to 2000, the amount available after adjusting from inflation has been low since 1991 (Williams &ump; Torrens, page
At the present the systems financing our health care include private insurance companies, employer sponsored health insurance coverage, and public insurance programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. The Medicare/Medicaid programs are in jeopardy. Unless something is done, the funding for these two programs will be depleted. “Some people work productively for years and die contently with wealth and happiness in old age, whereas others struggle for a few months or decades in agony as they are relentlessly drawn down into premature mortality” (White, 2001). Technology and premium growth are major contributing fact to the rise in health care spending.
With the unemployment rates so high; more and more Americans have to go on a government funded plan. These plans are very time consuming for the doctors which again takes away from patient care time. Yes, the incentives were out of hand before with the drug companies, but now the regulations for such are very strict and very limited, why can’t we find a happy medium. Now, with the healthcare reform benefits, premiums, and services covered will be a lot worse. Guidelines and limitations on prescriptions, tests, and specialists will be even more stringent.
The significant difference between the rates of health insurance cost increases and wage and inflation increases creates a problem in itself. Not only are there millions of people without health insurance, it is becoming more likely that they will not be able to afford to hold insurance policy. However, in a 2002 study it was found that only 30% of the uninsured were below federal poverty levels (Overview of the U.S. Health Care System). This means that despite the unsettling amounts of people in poverty without health insurance, there is also the issue of those who have the means to provide themselves and their families with health insurance and choose not to, only to be faced with crippling health bills should anything go wrong. Navigating and deciphering the complicated health insurance industry is too daunting and expensive a task to leave up to individuals, which is why in many cases, the United States government and private organizations have stepped in.