Home |  Elder Rights |  Health |  Pension Watch |  Rural Aging |  Armed Conflict |  Aging Watch at the UN  

Mission  |  Contact Us  |  Internships  |  Donate Now!  

back

Some related articles :

Aging Americans Are Staying Healthier, Study Finds

Changes In Insurance Coverage: 1994–2000 And Beyond

Americans over 50 are living longer, smoking less and suffering with less disability than previous generations of midlife adults. But they are more likely to be overweight or obese, live with multiple chronic health conditions and depend more on prescription drugs, all at a time when growing gaps in medical funding threaten their access to care.

These are among the key findings of a comprehensive report on the health and insurance coverage of U.S. adults 50 and older, released today by AARP. The group, formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons, is a membership and advocacy organization for seniors.

The report, which relies on data from a variety of public and private sources, breaks little new ground, but it provides stark details of the health care challenge facing two generations of Americans -- those 50 to 64 and those 65 and older -- as they approach their years of greatest medical need.

The data illuminate particular problems for the often-overlooked group aged 50 to 64, who are old enough to suffer from chronic illnesses and disease but too young to qualify for Medicare benefits. Many in this group have either lost jobs or had health care benefits reduced or withdrawn in recent years. Some have retired early and depend on continuing company benefits.

Of the 41 million Americans age 50 to 64 in 1999, 5.6 million, or 14 percent, were uninsured. With 27 percent of those in this age group obese (up from 14 percent in 1982), the stage is set for expensive -- and potentially deadly -- increases in diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease as the group ages.

"These are very real problems," said Bob Blendon, professor of health policy and political analysis at Harvard University. "More moderate-income people in those [age] categories are finding their retiree benefits cut back and they are finding themselves in jobs where there's more limited coverage."

The report calls for a number of changes, largely in the form of increased public funding to cover the uninsured, prescription drugs and long-term care. While it's hard to predict the shape of eventual solutions, John Rother, AARP's director of policy and strategy, said, "one thing we do know is that [health care] is going to cost more and be more complicated. Chronic illnesses are the dominant theme of the future. People are living longer and we are generally healthier than our parents at this age. But we're not always taking advantage of what we know" to sustain and improve health after age 50.

The report also calls for a philosophical shift in the health care system, away from simply providing acute care to also offering preventive care and wellness services, including "disease management" programs to keep the most vulnerable patients out of emergency rooms and hospitals.

The report, available at www.aarp.org, is the second in a series about Americans 50 and older by AARP; last year's focus was economic security. AARP officials said they plan to use the report to raise public awareness and help lobby for more federal funding for health care.

Minorities face greater health risks than the population at large, largely due to lack of access to care, the AARP report finds. The report found this lack of access spans both generations highlighted in the survey. Hispanics and blacks aged 50 to 64 were more likely than their white cohorts to not have seen a health care professional in the past year, despite the greater incidence in these minority groups of some of the chronic conditions common to the age group, like diabetes and hypertension.

While one in 10 whites aged 50 to 64 are uninsured, the report states, the rate for Hispanics is one in three, and for blacks one in five.

Among other key findings:

• People reaching age 50 today can expect to live another 30 years on average -- yet a majority suffer from at least one chronic health condition such as arthritis, hypertension and impaired vision and hearing. Heart disease and cancer have remained the leading causes of death people 50 and older for the past two decades.

• Costs are an outsize problem for two growing groups 50 and up: those who regularly need prescription drugs and those using long-term care services. Between 1977 and 1996, total health care spending per person aged 50 and over more than tripled (in dollars that were not adjusted for inflation). Most of the additional costs were devoted to prescription drugs, out-of-pocket spending for uncovered items and premium increases for health coverage.

• Patients between 50 and 64 are more skeptical and hold more proactive views about the health care system than those age 65 and older. Those in the younger group are more likely to use complementary and alternative medicine. Those age 65 and older are less likely to participate in treatment decisions and are less skeptical of the health care system.

Rother said data show that health care access and quality for adults often depend on location. Payments for Medicare Medigap policies that carry drug coverage can vary significantly from one state to another. States also differ in their levels of assistance to the uninsured and funding for Medicaid. For example, Medicaid payments per beneficiary in the District in 2000 were $10,373; in Maryland, the figure was $6,301; in Virginia, $4,611.

The proportion of people without insurance also varies widely. The District had a 15.8 percent uninsured rate for adults and children between 1997 and 1999, while in Maryland that figure was 13.4 percent and in Virginia it was 13.9 percent, AARP's statistics show.

James L. Martin, president of the 60 Plus Association, a nonprofit senior citizens advocacy group that bills itself as a conservative alternative to AARP, said he shared many of the concerns raised in the report.

"Frankly, their study does point out some serious problems in the future -- and that's good," Martin said. "The more you get out there, the more education about these issues and the better off we'll all be."

Like Rother, Martin said there are no simple solutions, though he said his group favors pressuring private companies to meet the needs of seniors rather than increasing government spending. Private insurance needs to be more inclusive and affordable, he said.

Rother said middle-aged Americans should build more physical activity and a healthier diet into their daily routine to extend their healthy years. He also recommends that baby boomers and their parents learn how to better navigate the health care system.

"We need a lot more people to pay attention to things like the cost of generics versus brand prescription drugs," he said. "The bottom line has now moved up -- and it's going to get worse."

FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Action on Aging distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.