1 Good News.....Bad News Chapter 11. 2 Future Concerns n Good News: – more of us are living longer...
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Transcript of 1 Good News.....Bad News Chapter 11. 2 Future Concerns n Good News: – more of us are living longer...
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Future Concerns
Good News:– more of us are living longer in better health,
more independently, and with greater security– most of us will be the beneficiaries of
technological and biomedical advances– there will be more opportunities for growth and
personal enhancement in later life
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Bad News
advances carry considerable economic and social costs
we will be faced with increasingly difficult resource choices, ethical dilemmas, and political decisions
there may likely be more years of dependency in later life
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Effects in the next century
Will the US economy continue to expand? Will the young adult and middle-age women
continue to enter the full-time work force at current rates?
How will the demand for other federal expenditures change over the next 50 years?
“ All of these will effect the quality of lives of elder Americans in the next century”.
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Social Perceptions & Attitudes
As this population increases our attitudes and perceptions will also undergo a change
As this population increases it is becoming more diverse, so no single way of understanding our elders
We can predict fertility, mortality and migration, but what other factors must we speculate?
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Other Factors
Will health care costs continue to escalate? Will family structures change? How secure is our Social Security System? Will older adults continue to retire early? Will Americans’ savings rate improve?
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Concerns:
1. Some differences between today’s elderly and elderly of the future
2. Concerns over generational equity and distributions of resources are likely to become more pressing
3. How the burden of economic support and social and medical care will be distributed
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First Concern: Future Elders
Higher level of education and probability of being married
Family size decreasing Gap in life expectancy is
narrowing Number of women in work
force for a longer time period
As elderly population grows, so does voters
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Work life Evidence is showing a change, but right
now most elderly retire as soon as they are able to (finances & health)
Demand for elder workers is not there Age Discrimination in Employment Act Will see them planning for retirement
differently Work, education, and volunteerism will
become more integrated in their lives
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Elder workers
Better health than previous generations Interest in continuing to work Have fewer sick days Punctual, reliable, experienced and loyal to
employer
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Life-long learning
There has been an increase in the adult college population
Why? Life transitions, a satisfying activity, opportunity to meet people, way to fill up free time
It has been observed that adult education increases during periods of rapid social change
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Volunteerism
Have seen considerable growth, yet largely underutilized resource relative to potential contribution they could make
Self-Esteem = most common response to why they volunteer
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Second Concern:
Generational Equity– Concern that as elderly population grows, it
draws more of our national resources away from the needy younger population
– A large proportion of these impressions are misleading
– Much of the cost burden supporting an aging population is related to the costs of increased demand for medical care and health care resources
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Third Concern:
Providing for the elderly:– Three sources of resources and support:
family,public government sector, private business sector
Family- unlikely that younger generation can sustain the burden
Private Sector- probable but question the quality and sustainability of private sector options
Public Sector- involves long-standing social contact that will need to be sustained at current level
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Most countries are not equipped or ready to cope with the growth of elderly population
U.S. compared to Sweden U.S. : -all S.S. recipients are eligible for Medicare
– Medicaid is major source of funding for long-term care
– Medicaid is income-based (payment for health care regardless of age, who do not have private resources to pay for medical care
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Many elderly require more social than medical care but have neither the family nor other social support or financial resources to elect any other option than nursing home care.
Access to in-home and community-based services is limited and fragmented.
Sweden : offers a different model based on different social and political philosophies.
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Sweden
Policy governing the elderly is NOT age-specific
1982: Social Service Act - provides municipal social services to all persons who need them regardless of age
1983: Health and Medical Services Act - provides health care and services to all members of society regardless of age
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All members of society are supported through a tax system that takes about 1/2 of a working person’s income
Directs support toward independent living (46% of those older than 70 live alone) It is estimated that family and friends
provide 2/3 of all care
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Summary
What we’ve discussed is the way we might find the future- there are no certainties
What we do see is Americans living longer, healthier, and more productive lives
When we discuss the concerns they should be placed on national level, and not just concerns of the elderly (age-blind concerns)