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Growing Aging Population

Decent Essays
In looking at charity versus social programs, it is important to look a rapidly growing aging population. Something that this society has not experienced before is how to handle an aging population that is projected to almost double by 2030. The focus needs to be on how we are going to care for an aging population that is living longer and will depend on social programs such as the financial support of Social Security, the medical support of Medicare, and the social support of the members of each generation to follow. In other words, caring for our generations of elders that preceded us, advocating for more Federal funding for research on diseases like Dementia and Alzheimer’s which will likely to double as our aging population doubles, and…show more content…
Further compounding the problem, baby boomers have not saved enough for general retirement expenses and are especially unprepared for unplanned expenses such as LTC needs. Many expect that cash-strapped government entitlement programs to fill the savings gaps (Spiegleman, 2013). Because the majority of Americans do not plan in advance to fund LTC, government programs currently account for 63 percent of LTC funding, with Medicaid paying for 40 percent and Medicare paying for 23 percent in the form of post-acute care. Policymakers need to be proactive in reforming the current system to ensure that retirees have access to high quality care without bankrupting future generations. As the baby boomer population ages into Medicare, which is already suffering from its own poor financial health, the consequent rising health care costs could negatively impact the nation’s long-term care system (Adamopoulos, H.,…show more content…
As far as Federal funding for Social Security and Medicare, these entitlements were established to help support a much younger aged retirement group that did not have the life expectancy that our present aging population has. Because of this, federally supporting this growing aging population through social programs will require supplementing the needs of this aging population though charitable contributions from state and local organizations. It starts by advocating for and helping support those that need our help in society, such as, our aging population. The challenges the country will experience by the doubling of our aging population will be unprecedented. It is the duty of each member of society to ensure that the elderly population is cared for and continues to live their lives with dignity and respect, while at the same time plan for future generations to
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