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Rising Cost Of Health Care

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The debate about health care involves issues concerning the right to have healthcare insurance as well as those 65 and older, obesity epidemic, smoking and how each of these topics affects health care in the United States. The number of people with health insurance has steadily increased among with the elderly, who face additional challenges when it comes to seeking health care. The projected increase of Americans classified as obese or who smoke has also had an impact on our health care system. The rising cost of health care and health insurance will have a great impact on the future of the economy. Today’s health care system is increasingly complex regarding cost-controlling measures and the affordability of insurance premiums. The …show more content…
Retrieved from U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates and Projections. Increments in years are uneven. The elderly population will consist of a large number of people with functional and cognitive limitations. This increase will bring about a rising demand for long-term services and additional support their everyday lives. Functional limitation in daily activities, such as eating, bathing as well as cognitive limitation, or loss of cognitive function in mental activities will increase among the elderly thus requiring more support (CBO, 2013). Medicare, Medicaid and other major programs related to health care account for 40% of gross mandatory spending, which totals $1.0 trillion (CBO, 2016). The projected baseline, if spending averages almost 6% per year, would reach $2.0 trillion by 2026, three-fifths of which would finance the care of those 65 and older (CBO, 2016). The rising cost of health care will intensify the burden on states, businesses, the federal government, and individuals. With life expectancy improving, the demand for caregivers as well as long-term services and support will change (CBO, 2013). The elderly’s unique health care challenges will make this population the most expensive in the current health care system, making medical services and support possibly more difficult to find (Berman et al., 2010). The continued rise in the elderly population will bring about challenges for providing the quality and cost-effective health care in the …show more content…
As a society, providing a good example for their children should be the number-one reason to live a healthier life. A healthy lifestyle provides the elements for good mental and physical health, which increases the chances for a good quality life as an adult. A good diet of consisting of nutritious meals, staying active, and getting restful sleep can reduce the risk for many diseases that may occur at a young age. Promoting healthy habits helps with lowering risk factors for comorbidities, disabilities and even death. Promotional projects designed to encourage healthier behaviors to reduce obesity and help people quit smoking. Obesity was classified a disease by the American Medical Association in June 2013 (Rossi, 2013). It is forecasted that, by 2030, 51% of the U.S. population will be obese (Finkelstein et al, 2012). With such an alarming projected increase, more should be done to educate and pass policies to reduce those percentages. The morbidity and mortality rate of those with obesity trend to be higher, which results in increase spending on health care (CBO, 2016). To understand the continued rise of the obesity epidemic, Americans need to find ways to make a lifestyle changes that include a healthy choices. Like obesity, cigarette smoking can also cause preventable disease and death. Most people today understand that smoking is a danger to their health. The

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