Aging America and the Healthcare
System
The baby boomers have long been
viewed as a force to be reckoned with, and now they are starting to affect
our health care system. 2011 marks the year that this generation
starts to turn 65, and with around 10,000 turning 65 every single day in
the United States, these numbers are already impacting on a struggling
health care system.
Considering that by 2030
it is estimated that baby boomers will account for at least 20% of the
U.S. population, an already struggling health care system is likely to
be crippled by the needs of the baby boomers over the next few decades.
The fastest-growing sector
of our aging population are those over 85 years, and with about 90% of
this sector suffering from one or more chronic health conditions, this
is going to require a complete re-think of how our health care system can
meet their needs.
Sharon Brangman, chair of
the American Geriatrics Society, claims this calls for a complete re-evaluation
of care systems. The U.S. health system is largely based around treating
and curing people, employing the skills of physicians and relying heavily
on pharmaceutical solutions to treat medical conditions. Corporate
America has built its health care system on making pharmaceutical companies
rich and creating a nation very dependent on medications to treat existing
health problems. Now we need to completely re-think our future of
health care, more preventative strategies should be employed, and especially
with our aging population, where medical conditions that arise out of advanced
age are not simply treatable.
Not only does advancing age
mean that medical conditions can get more complex, an older person’s body
can react much differently to drugs and particularly the ‘cocktailing’
of different medications.
In addition to this, the
care management of the elderly requires an all-round approach to address
well-being and psychological, as well as physiological, changes.
At present we do not have enough specially-trained geriatric care professionals
to meet the needs of our existing aging population, and with the increase
in our aged population over the next few decades, we need to develop a
plan now to cater for the health care needs of a significantly senior society.
The recent economic downturn
has affected every sector of our lives and our government, already crippled
with a $4 Trillion deficit, has to start thinking and planning now for
the future for aging Americans.
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