Ageism in Healthcare

As we become older, issues with our health begin to take affect and finding ways to fund for that care is becoming even more difficult. In the article “Some Elders Must Take Drastic Measures to Obtain Long-term Care”, national magazine journalist Mary A. Fischer (2011) states that many Americans must face demeaning and disempowering choices in order to qualify for Medicaid or Medicare—federal funded health insurance programs— such as refusing to pay for a spouses institutionalization, divorce, and spending down assets. The author argues that these choices leave the healthy spouse with decreased funds to plan for their own retirement expense (Fisher, 2011). Working in the health care field for 4 years, along with my family’s own personal experiences I can relate to this article, since I have seen a variety of ways that federal funded health insurances have been unable to meet the expectations and demands of its beneficiaries.

Some might say that the 1930’s and 1940’s was the greatest generation. The 1930’s started with the Great Depression the greatest economic disaster in modern history. This generation had to deal with great sacrifice. The stock market crashed and people were forced out of their homes, lost businesses, lost their jobs, and had no help from the government. People that had left the farmlands to move to the cities for employment found themselves returning to the farm to feed their families. People that were forced to leave their homes moved into parks and abandoned lands to set-up what was called Hooverville’s (Foner 2014).

The objective of this study is to examine the evolution of programs and services for aging population over the last fifty years. Toward this end, this brief study will conduct a review of literature that addresses these shifts and changes in policy. The timeline of the history of the services and pogroms for the aging population in the United States is shown in the following timeline and an explanation for these develops will next follow the timeline.

census discloses that the county age group is rapidly increasing and the trend will continue grow from a 99,086 to 140,000 by the year 2030 (Maryland Department of Aging, 2014). Research has shown that social inequalities are inter-reliant in the society and the impacts on health are present in all ages, however, it is predominant with the seniors leaving in the community. As it indicates, to reduce these disparities, it requires multi-interventional and collaborative approaches in addressing the various factors of health, it services and it cost. Although the United States has had some effective policies and few good health programs, however, providing a stable and adequate income for most of the seniors and providing a good public health care system goes a long way in improving their health and also increasing life expectancy. Much can and should be done to reduce inequalities that exist among the seniors and public health should take led in addressing the various aspect that affects the seniors. This paper has discussed the barriers to healthcare among the seniors and it has provided innumerable recommendations that would help improve their

Women have been marginalized amongst the groups of populations in various areas including social security. Even though senior women are more dependent on social security as a means of livelihood, they receive less benefit as compared to their male counterparts. According to the USA Social Security Administration (SSA) Fact Sheet that was published in 2016, “Senior women depend on social welfare for 90 percent of their earnings. However, they receive a considerably lower amount of benefits than men. The fact sheet states that women over the age of 65 years receives a median of $13,150, compared to $17,106 that men of the same age group receive (U.S. Social Security Administration, N.D)”. SSA blames the disparity on the considerably lower income

The aging population is effected by the changing in marriage patters and thus now we see more individuals entering aging unmarried or divorced. Poverty analysis of the aging population show those who are married have the least risk of poverty, and those who are unmarried, particularly women, have the highest risk of poverty (Anzick & Weaver, 2001; Vartanian & McNamara, 2002). Additionally the increase in longevity is disproportionate among men and women, as women live longer than men they are at risk for being widowed. Poverty research shows women who are widowed are particularly at risk for poverty because they often have not spent much time in the labor market depending more on their husbands’ income (Engelhardt & Gruber, 2004). The disparity of low socioeconomic status continues into older age, and as the aging population becomes more diverse there will be more individuals with low socioeconomic status as the proportion of Latino and Black elderly continues to grow (Kim, 2013). The geographic shifts of the aging mean as more areas in the Midwest and Northeast experience the “greying in place” there is a unique concentration of aging populations with potential for poverty and without assets and finances enough to move to retirement destination (Frey, 2010). This means certain geographic areas will have to target and focus on their aging

It’s said that the children of the baby boomer generation resisted the suburban and consumerist ethos. They fought for social, political, and economic equality for members of the disadvantaged groups: women, lesbians, gays, younger people, African-Americans, Hispanics and American Indians. Others were said to have dropped out of the political lives and grew out their hair, did drugs and practiced “free love” due to new accessible birth-control

Healthcare in the US relies heavily on different population trends that help form and structure our tailor made health care services. Multiple population trends are imperative to the planning, financing and delivery of healthcare. Analyzing the size and age framework of a population has a great impact on the planning of healthcare (Williams & Torrens, 2008). The aging and longevity of the average Americans are of vital concern to future financial stability of the Social Security and Medicare programs. Access trends is also important due to they convey whether care is actually being delivered to the right consumers in response to

Nearly 3.7 million American babies born in 1982 were the first members of the new Generation Y, or more affectionately known as millenials (Thompson, par. 1). Many things play into whether a generation is considered to be faring ‘better’ than another one; job opportunities, the state of the environment, whether the U.S. is at peace or at war, income vs. living expenses, the general happiness of the people, and the list goes on. Millenials are part of a special generation because

“Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life,” a verse found in Proverbs 16:31 in the Bible, associates aging with a wealth far greater than any materialistic fortune. So why does the term ‘elderly,’ now connote a burden? Defined by the Oxford dictionary as “prejudice or discrimination on the grounds of age,” ageism is used to rationalize age-based intolerance and narrow-mindedness. A rapid and unmistakable animosity towards aging has emerged over the years, and combined with this youthful cosmetic fixated society, discrimination toward the elderly won’t be going away anytime soon.

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.

When explaining the implication based on demographic you really have to understand the meaning when dealing with health care. Demographic is the study of a population the based on race, sex and age. Demographic also is the study of level of education and income level among others. The government uses demographics and other corporations and non-government organizations. When the government uses these demographics to determine the population and characteristics, this includes economic and development trends this is very important as the size of the population will change over the time due to economic circumstances. With the population of elders that have the life expectancy of 65 would most likely need healthcare and other long-term services.

The demographics of a population are a fundamental determinant of the need, demand, and use of healthcare services. Factors such as size and age of the population will have a direct bearing on what occurs in the healthcare realm. For instance, the United States population has doubled since 1950; therefore, more people equate to increased utilization of healthcare services. The very young and very old utilize a lot more healthcare services than other age groups. It is anticipated that the number of people that are age 65 or older will grow from 35.2 million in 2000 to 60.2 million by 2025 which will result in substantially drastic increase in the amount of healthcare services that are utilized (Williams & Torrens, 2008). Because of the baby boomer population the increasing number of people in that age category is also expected to stress the Social Security

According to Hillman (2013), a baby –boomer is a person who was born between 1947 and 1964. This generation is described as a principled generational cohort in the labor force (Lyon, Legg, & Toulson, 2005).). One might argue that this is because a particular member of this generational cohort was nurtured in a period of affluence and enormous opportunities. It is telling that a baby-boomer usually gives significant devotion to changing the status quo and adjusts that which is incorrect. However, not only does a particular member of this generational cohort does one best to change the status quo, this particular generational cohort tends to impact the work force with its retirement succession. This is because on a daily basis, approximately

The ending of World War II led to one of the most influential generations today. Young males upon returning to the United States, Canada, and Australia following tours of duty overseas during World War II began families. This brought about a significant number of new children into the world. “In 1946, the first year of the Baby Boom, new births in the U.S. skyrocketed to 3.47 million births” (Rosenburg). This led to many events such as an increase in housing and the development of the suburb, consumerism multiplying, health care system, issues and a more recent topic: retirement.