Meeting the Challenge
Table of Contents
- » Introduction
- » Redefining the Challenge
- » The Problem is Overstated
- » Meeting the Challenge
- Spending Health Dollars Wisely
- Improving Longterm Care
- Promoting Better Preventive Care
- Creating a National System for Home- and Community-Based Care
- Livable Communities
- Keeping Social Security Solvent
- Helping Americans Build More Retirement Assets
- Helping Americans to Work Longer
- Restoring the Federal Revenue Base
- » Conclusion
Currently, 45 million Americans lack health coverage; the uninsured account for one in 6 individuals under the age of 65. Far from being a cost saving society, this represents a huge future liability.
Providing tomorrow’s older adults with independence, choice, and control in ways that are affordable for them and society as a whole is a considerable challenge, but not an impossible one. Given the vast array of opportunities—including those presented by the latest facts and trends, potential innovations on the horizon, and public policy tools available—AARP believes that America is capable of successfully meeting the challenge of an aging society. Below are nine key challenges drawn primarily from our Ten-Year Social Impact Agenda (at the end of this booklet), that will substantially affect the quality of life for Americans as they age.38 By successfully addressing these challenges, the country will also have positioned itself to have the best chance of sustaining the long-term viability of important entitlement programs.