SIDEBAR
Who Will Care for an Aging America?
The United States is expecting a dramatic
increase in the number of elderly persons, including a wave of
aging baby boomers, in the coming decades. By 2030, the number
of Americans age 65 and older will reach 70 million, more than
double the cohort’s size in 1995. The ‘oldest
old,’ those 85 years and older, are the fastest growing
group. Their numbers will at least double within the next 25
years, to 8.5 million.
According to Atlantic Philanthropies, a British foundation whose mission is to transform
how older adults are treated in the U.S. and U.K., says that 85
percent of older Americans are healthy and active, while the
rest require more and better health care and social support.
Atlantic Philanthropies aims to enhance services for seniors
through human capital development—better funding for
geriatric training programs for physicians, nurses, social
workers, and health attendants.
Such support is sorely
needed. A 2005 study by the American Geriatric Society (AGS) shows a severe shortage of geriatricians today
and a coming crisis in the next 25 years. According to the
report, Caring for Older Americans:
The Future of Geriatrics, in 2030
there will be one geriatrician for every 7,665 older adults
unless society takes steps to recruit and train more
geriatricians. But despite growing demand, the number of
medical students specializing in geriatrics is declining,
mostly due to government reimbursement policies, which act as a
disincentive to establishing an office practice geared to
elderly patients. Not getting paid for managing chronic
conditions, which requires coordination across settings such as
home, hospital, nursing home, and other long-term sites, is a
major problem. The AGS calls for geriatricians to be change
agents to achieve the goal of improving and maintaining a
healthy senior population. g