Health Reforms Must Treat Older Americans Fairly

Source: AARP.org

As the United States embarks on a campaign to make health care available to all Americans, seniors are concerned that policymakers will make certain that benefits achieved from this reform are fair for all generations.

Any health care reform proposal intended to be meaningful for all sections of our population must be created with intent to share both benefits and the costs among all users. The economic crisis and the skyrocketing health care costs have hurt all Americans. It’s been especially hard on those in or nearing retirement. The economic crisis has caused many retirees who have saved for retirement to see their retirement savings eroded to only 60 percent of its previous value.

Furthermore, AARP’s research indicates that the median income for Americans age 65+ is only half that of people under that age ($28,305 vs.$56,545 ). Additionally, the only source of guaranteed income for the majority of individuals age 65+ is Social Security. Without Social Security and Medicare, nearly half of older Americans would fall below the poverty line. In 2006, the number of seniors living in poverty was about 3.4 million. By 2007 that number had jumped to 3.6 million. Today one in 10 Americans over the age of 65 is poor.

The escalating cost of health care is taking a huge chunk out of the available money that people age 65+ have at their disposal. Medicare Part B premiums have risen by almost 50 percent in the past 10 years and since 1991 we have seen the rate of bankruptcy double among individuals in this age group driven by the high cost of health care. The situation doesn’t look much better for those aged 55+. In 2007 this age group accounted for 22 percent of all personal bankruptcies, up from only 8 percent in 1991.

Deliberations on how to reform our health care system must include discussions about how to provide fair and adequate access for older Americans. Costs and benefits must be shared by all generations of Americans in order to ensure that our new system of providing Americans with health care is fair and equitable.

Related Articles:

Health Care Reform – An Issue Whose Time Has Come, Strengthening Medicare For Current and Future Generations, Health Care in the VI Must Remain a Priority

Other Resources:

www.healthreform.gov