Economic Impact of Providing Medical Care to an Aging Population
In today’s world the aging population is rapidly growing, and with falling fertility rates and the constant increase of the human life span, the United States is preparing for the realization that the fastest growing populace is what the nation considers to be senior citizens. For health care organizations any type of demographic change will automatically bring economic and social challenges. Almost 80 million babies were born in the United States from January 1946 through December 1964. This segment of the population is known as the Baby Boomers. In 2011 the first wave of Baby Boomers began reaching age 65, the age of entitlement. Every day from today for the next 16 years approximately 10,000 Baby Boomers will turn age 65 and become entitled to Medicare (www.politifact.com, 2011). With an increasingly older population come the need for a greater number of prescription drugs, a greater number of medical office visits in order to extend the aged quality of life, and a greater need for long term care. 80 million Americans within the next 16 years will receive some form of government funding for health care adding to the already fraught health care economy.
Ageing population puts strain on medical costs: Bernanke warns of ‘fiscal crisis’
With more than 10,000 Baby Boomers reaching the age of retirement and Medicare eligibility every day for the next decade and a half the nation’s and states’ government are facing a disastrous fiscal crisis. The Congressional Budget Office made a projection in 2007 that the federal debt held by the public to gross domestic product ratio will have ballooned to 100% in 2030 however the nation has surpassed this figure as of 2012. The government’s dilemma is how to decrease health care spending while extending the quality of life for these 80 million aging baby boomers. The United States Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke states “If early and meaningful action is not taken, the United States economy could be seriously weakened, with future generations bearing much of the cost” (Ageing population puts strain on medical costs: Bernanke warns of ‘fiscal crisis’). Future generations will be paying for the Baby Boomer generation’s Social Security and Medicare benefits through tax increases and spending cuts to their own entitlements.
Schumer: More Generics Needed New York’s Democratic Representative Charles Schumer is urging the Federal Drug Administration to expedite its process of generic drug approval. In addition to expediting the approval process the Federal Drug Administration is also proposing to initiate a public service movement with the hopes that the public will accept generic medications as equal to brand name medications. Representative Schumer is looking into the future of the nation’s already fatigued health care economy and proposing timely access to generic drugs. Speedy access and lower cost generic drugs in greater demand from an aging Baby Boomer population will save billions of dollars in health care spending. “When you look at the fiscal storm clouds on the horizon, the aging of the United States population, the strain on the Medicare Trust Fund, the pressure to keep health care costs down for all families-one of the silver linings is generic drugs” (American Druggist, 1998) declared Representative Schumer.
Health care strategies for an aging society Health care facilities need to make geriatric care a bigger part of their medical training. They also need to reconsider the care options because with the rising demand for social care services the national government in addition to state governments needs to share the responsibility for meeting this type of need. In addition to managing their care the health care facilities also need to make treatment much more accessible to the nation’s growing older population. For new prescription drugs, clinical trials are rarely given to the population over the age of 75. Enabling remote home-based care is an increasingly active role when providing care to the aging population.
Conclusion
The nation has been living in a recession for several years now. Health care spending is an ever-growing crisis for consumers as well as the United States government. The growing population of Baby Boomers is proving to be one more straw that will break the camel’s back. These Baby Boomers will require more drugs, more doctor visits, more procedures, and a greater amount of long-term care. All with the expectation that their health care needs be taken care of through government funding such as Medicare.