The Health Care-Based Vulnerability of Elderly Populations

More and more people with medical insurance are relying on the health care system as new technologies and treatments become available. This leads to a grater number of claims for payment by insurance companies, the costs of which are passed back to health care consumers. The baby-boom generation is entering its peak health-care using period. Over eighty million Americans will turn 50 in the next 10 years. The cost of providing heath care for these individuals will be staggering

The baby-boomer generation is aging and adding more beneficiaries’ at an increasing rate than ever before and is estimated to impact the federal deficit by over 17% by 2020. Many other countries have National Healthcare that provides better care at a much lower cost. Medicare was the motivation for a universal healthcare plan and a program for the U.S. could have a positive impact. (Starr, 2011).

Life expectancy has increased over the last century. With this greater survival rate, there needs to be an increase in the rate of spending for Medicare. Despite what one does to improve their health behavior, the need for medical care cultivates as one ages. This need will continue to increase significantly as medicine continues to modernize.

I was intrigued by the amount of pill bottles that one patient had in his kitchen cupboard which made me reflect on the cost of health care produced by the older adult. I began to research the cost of living longer and found that as of 2011, 24 percent of the Medicare population were over the age of 80. I also found that Medicare spending for those above the age of 85 averages around $14,745 (Neuman, Cubanski, Huaung, & Damico, 2015). So I ended up learning that the older

More people are living much longer lives than in years past. People are very surprised to be living much longer lives than they thought they would. Health care has played a large part in patient longevity. There are many normal changes that come along with aging, however, because people are living longer these normal changes can become chronic problems. Common aging problems that can make the older adult a vulnerable population are reviewed in Gerontological Nursing (Tabloski, 2014) and can include nutritional needs, medication management, sleep changes, oral or mouth care, renal problems and musculoskeletal concerns. According to A Profile of Older Americans: 2013 (http://www.hhs.gov), there are a large amount

Vulnerability is defined as susceptibility or increased risk for health problems (DeChesnay, 2008).  A group of individuals are considered at higher risk for illness when their physical, emotional, psychological, or social health, is compromised (Aday, 2001).  There are many leading causes for why a population is considered at higher risk; socioeconomic, age, gender, demographics, personal, and cultural backgrounds are some of the key factors (Aday, 2001; Sebation, 1996). Individuals can become vulnerable at any time because of change in life circumstances, placing them at higher risk. One group

According to Edlund et al., (2003), the Long-Term Care Security Act signed in 2000 by President Clinton established the Federal Long-Term Care Insurance Program, which in 2002 offered a long-term care insurance program to federal government employees, retirees, and their family members. This type of long-term care employer assisted insurance has great appeal as the last of the Baby Boomers have entered their early fifties. In “Ready, Set, Grow,” Paul Barr (2014) stated that there are 10,000, Baby Boomers per day becoming eligible for Medicare, and those in their sixties focus on cost saving solutions; whereas Baby Boomers in their fifties emphasize the importance of quality, and ease of access while exploring new care models with innovative patient interactions and unique financing

Baby boomer aging is one of the large causative factors of this increase in demand (Glicken & Miller, 2013, p.1883-1889). According to Glicken & Miller (2013), the elderly population will nearly double in the next fifteen years putting a strain on the healthcare workforce. Also, more than half of physicians have intentions on limiting care access with regards to Medicare patients. Many medical doctors are refusing to care for Medicaid patients. This is a result of the growing number of individuals now with the means to afford healthcare due to the

One dominant economic feature of the healthcare industry is the growing need for both basic and specialized healthcare due to the continued aging of the “Baby Boomer” generation. This generation consists of over 79,000,000 individuals born in the US between 1946 and 1964. As this generation has aged, the need for healthcare has increased dramatically. Let us take a look at some statistics:

My population of interest thus meet the definition of a vulnerable population. Most African Americans women living in Nursing homes suffer from Depression. It could be as a result from other chronic illnesses and not just a single diagnosis of Depression. Some of the most common reasons they are admitted into long-term care facilities is because of Stroke, Diabetes with amputation, Cancer, lack of care givers, lack of finances, homelessness, age, and limited social and economic resources. These are all the factor that determines ones vulnerability. African

It is widely believed that the aging of the U.S. population is a major driver of the annual growth in the demand for health care and in national health spending

Medicare is America’s largest health insurance program for the men and women over the age of 65 or with certain disabilities. For many Americans, this a huge part of how they can afford medications, doctor visits and other medical expenses. In recent years the number of Medicare enrollees has doubled (NASI, 2015). The “Baby Boomers”, people born from 1946-1965, is the largest generation within America with roughly 75 million Americans. This generation of Americans are all turning 65 around the same time and enrolling into this medical program. With the amount of new enrollees the total spending for Medicare will rise from 3.6% of the nations GDP to 5.1% by 2030, when the youngest of the baby boomer generation will be 65 (NASI, 2015). Even

The rate at which our population is aging is one of the most demographic trends that will changes the face of the future workforce of healthcare. The demand for services and they type of services offered will change as well. The impact will be felt on a economic level

The growing concern regarding the financial security of Medicare is one of particular interest to the nearly 72 million baby boomers that become eligible for this government-assisted, and tax-payer bolstered, program over the next two decades. According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2010), there will be a rapid increase in baby-boomers between 2010 and 2030, as the entire baby boomer population move into the 65 years and over category (p.3). Political and financial revisions must be made to ensure the security of Medicare as the numbers of individuals paying into this program are soon to be surpassed by the number of individuals drawing-off this program (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). The elderly are also at a disadvantage with transportation to health care visits, picking up prescriptions, and rehabilitation services. There needs to be an establishment of access not only to primary care providers, hospitals, and rehabilitation services, but access to other aspects of the health care system for the elderly population.

The American population is getting older which presents us with many challenges but also present us with potential opportunities. With the length of life and quantity and fraction of older persons rise in most industrialized and many evolving nations, a crucial question is whether this population will be accompanied by continued or better-quality health, an improving quality of life, and adequate social and cost-effective resources. This answer lies in the ability of peoples and societies, as well as modern social, governmental, financial, and health service delivery systems, to provide optimum assistance to older persons.