(Snippets from the frontline)
Paying for future care of older adults
Taxes from working-age adults support many services and entitlements for those of the older generation. The sheer number of Baby Boomers has maintained the tax base for decades, but as they retire from the workforce and the birth rate of younger generations decrease, the number of future tax payers will shrink.
Recent demographic studies in California bear out this population slowdown.
(See this USC YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAg0gNGvHT0&feature=youtu.be.) These projected changes, common throughout the US, will impact future services to the older adult population.
In order for them to age in place and not end up in nursing homes, services must be streamlined effectively and financially. This is our challenge.
Healthcare services is only one of many arenas we must focus on, and should include housing, transportation, employment, and communication. A recent Executive Order by Governor Gavin Newsom commits the State “so that all Californians can age with dignity and independence.”
The present system shuffling older adults into nursing homes is an abomination.
We can do better.
Gene Uzawa Dorio, M.D.
Do any other states or countries address this matter properly? H
What are the costs of aging in place compared to our current practice? H