The Aging Population

In a health care system beset by inequality, excessive spending, and average outcomes, one segment of the population in particular presents a variety of problems and opportunities that need to be addressed: the elderly. Individuals over the age of sixty-five in the United States utilize a disproportionate share of medical services compared to the rest of the population, and the growth of this demographic means that any concerns associated with it will only continue to intensify. By studying the health care that is provided to the elderly, one not only gains insight into how this population segment could be better served, but also into how the delivery of health care for the entire population could be improved to ameliorate the problems associated with access, cost, and quality.

These are just two of the important population trends when considering for the planning, financing, and delivery of healthcare in the United States. The ageing population and the racial and ethnic diversity population are two fast-paced population trends in terms of growth over the years. Healthcare services have already made great strides to accommodate the needs of the elderly and racial diversity groups. I believe the future of healthcare will be able to make changes and adjustments so that adequate healthcare will be provided to these population trends.

The United States’ population over 65 years of age is increasing as the baby boomers reach retirement age. Greater life expectancy is a result of people living longer with better nutrition, healthcare, and management of chronic diseases. In the primary care setting, where I work, we have a large patient population of older adults. Caring for middle-aged and elderly patients requires greater time and intensity than caring for most younger patients. It is not unusual for an elderly patient to have six or more chronic conditions and twelve or more prescription medications which require coordination and monitoring. Updated HIPAA consents and Health Care Proxy documents are essential to providing seamless care. Since primary care involves repeated encounters with patients over time, I am quite familiar with many of my patients and their families and, when appropriate, assist families to assure that these are documents are current. Additionally, I have had personal experience caring for an aging family member.

According to Garza (2016), the elderly will have an increase need of resources and healthcare professionals to better manage their healthcare issues. “The percentage of the U.S. economy spent on health care for individuals ages 65 and older exceeds 5 percent — a proportion that is expected to double by 2030 and triple by 2050. As seniors age, they may struggle to afford soaring health care costs” (Fay). Medicaid and Medicare pay for most of the senior citizen’s healthcare bills but many are still in medical debt. The cycle is continuous; as the population grows older they experience one or more chronic conditions which lead to the need for health insurance and healthcare. Epidemiologists will now have the task of seeing how the increase of medical debt affects the elderly population in relation to the diseases they experience. A study that involved 3,000 participants found that “more than 75 percent of Medicare-eligible households spent at least $10,000 out of pocket on health care… and for the remaining 25 percent the average expense was even greater: they spent a whopping $101,791 out of pocket” (Health Care Cost: Expenses Hurt Elderly The Most, Report, 2012). Finding proper healthcare professionals can also affect the elderly’s quality of life. There is a shortage of nurses, caregivers, and doctors that specialize in caring for the elderly which can be

This demographic trend deflects on the stabilization; decline and fall in the United Sates rates in fertility since the generation of the baby boom are given birth. More importantly this demographic trend speculates on the secular increase in the life expectancy and entry of the large baby boom cohort joining in to the normal projected age of retirement that is between 2010 and 2030. The census bureau expects arise of the share population over 65 after the 21st decade short pause (from 13% presently to 20% by 2050 and 23% in 2100).

Generally, social work is acclaimed as related to working with younger populations and handling abuse or neglect in the home. In television shows, you often see social workers entering the homes of children who experience abuse and removing them from the situation. While this can be part of the job description, social work is a diversified field with many career opportunities. Social workers specialize in a range of different areas based on client age and individual need. The social worker’s ethical job responsibilities are outlined in NASW’s Code of Ethics (1999). This paper will review these responsibilities in relation to aging populations and then focus directly on the social workers practice with aging

The medical field is already experiencing an upsurge in baby boomer patients, which encompass individuals born between 1946 and 1964, and has experiences a sharp demand for clinical and administrative talent. Demographers expect the retired population to increase by 73-percent by 2029, surging from 41 to 71 million people. During this transition, many individuals will forfeit their work-sponsored insurance and enter the Medicaid provider network, an occurrence

The population trends of aging citizens and income levels are the most important aspects to consider in the planning, financing and delivery of healthcare. The United States is experiencing a shift in the population break up, as the number of individuals over the age of 65 increases (Garza, 2016). This population group can affect many components of the U.S. healthcare system. Income will be another population trend that will aid in the direction of healthcare (Leonard, 2015). In order to adequately plan for the future of the U.S. healthcare system, the trends of the aging population and lower income levels must be considered.

As people get older they experience a drastic change since they are not able to live the same lifestyle they had when they were younger. There had been many negative outcomes that come with aging, but the one problem most elders face and that should be addressed is loneliness and depression. The program I have designed to solve this social problem, “Elders and Pets.” aims to assist the elder population that live by themselves, by providing them a rescued pet. The hypothesis for the program is that if we provide a pet to an elder that lives in isolation, they will feel less lonely; they will reduce depression symptoms and will become happier. A research was done in order to find the levels of sadness elders face each day. In the United States

We live in a world full of so many resources and some parts of the world have an abundant amount and other do not. When living in the put of the world with a lot of resources we forget there are parts of the world that are still struggling for things, which for us are easy to find. But, in the same breath there are people who are having troubles within different communities’ right around us. The elder population is full of people who do not necessarily have the means to be able to take care of themselves. This does not apply to every elder, but nutrition is becoming a problem within their community. According to Helen (2014), “eating a balanced diet is the best way to stay physically and mentally strong in old age and there is a wealth of medical

Aging of U.S. Population and their growing medical needs is one of the greatest challenges because of health care reforms. By 2030, geriatric population of US of age 65 and up will be more than 72 million which will be an estimated 20% of the overall population (He, 2005).

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

The efforts to improve quality of health care and outcome while bending the curve of health care must be a top national priority. Despite of progressing in reforming the health care market, still not very promising for America’s older adults or population as whole. While more than 90% population is currently insured, cost of Medicare and Medicaid will exhaust large shares of the US economy and federal budget in the next years ahead. Analyses of the employment market and the non-group market has confirmed the rising of premiums and deductibles. With that in mind, it is likely that the America population will encounter with higher rates of illness, disability and early mortality.

A very relevant issue facing today’s society is that of adequate health care for the baby boomer and older generations and the finances associated with medical costs. Looking into possible factors that could negatively impact the older generations due to inefficient monitoring of medical records belonging to the geriatric population is what led me to come up with the following hypothesis. The lack of careful medical observation in the area of medicine for geriatrics will cause the baby boomer generation to have a greater financial hardship.

The “Baby Boomers” have always been leading our society through powerful change; because of this it is only appropriate that the next chapter in healthcare begins under their influence as well. The first of the Boomers became of retirement age, sixty-five, in 2010 and every eight seconds another individual of this generation becomes a year older (When I’m 64: How boomers will change healthcare, 2007, p. 3). By the year 2030, “the over 65 population will nearly double as a result of the aging Boomers (When I’m 64: How boomers will change healthcare, 2007, p. 2).” With this significant demographic change, the needs of the aging population will similarly have a significant impact on society, especially the health care sector. Marcia Ory of