Description/Abstract
In 2030, nearly 73 million Americans will be aged 65 years or older. As Americans continue to have fewer children than in the past, the number of older adults will outnumber children. Thus, fewer young adults will be around to support and care for the older adult population. Coupled with COVID-19 pandemic-driven disruptions to the healthcare industry, America’s health and aging care system is unprepared to support its large and growing older adult population. Over time, we will see increased health care scarcity and inequality in the distribution of elder care services, especially with continued healthcare worker shortages and drastic increases in the cost of living. This brief describes health and aging care service gaps for U.S. older adults, including how Medicare limitations lead to high health care costs, and encourages the federal government to shore up Medicare, long-term care services, and the supply of aging care specialists to better support America’s growing older adult population.
Document Type
Issue Brief
Keywords
Older adults, Medicare, COVID-19, healthcare
Disciplines
COVID-19 | Demography, Population, and Ecology | Gerontology | Public Health | Sociology
Date
7-9-2024
Language
English
Acknowledgements
The author thanks Alexandra Punch, Alyssa Kirk, and Shannon Monnat for edits on a previous version of this brief.
Recommended Citation
Kaplan, Sierra. (2024). America is Unprepared to Meet the Needs of its Growing Older Adult Population. Lerner Center Population Health Research Brief Series. Issue Brief #69. Accessed at: https://surface.syr.edu/lerner/257/.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
