Older citizens creates outcry for quality care

Marissa Nelson, Social Work BA

Did you know the elder population will be increasing in the near future? Research shows that by the year 2030 there will be over 71 million Americans that are of the age of 65 and older. That is 20% of the U.S. population. Do you know what that means? It means that we are in desperate need of more health care assistance. With the uprising of the older population it will cause pressure on the spending and technology in the health care field. The older population deserves to have health care providers that are able to care for them and have their needs met when it comes to medical treatment. Research shows that many health care providers aren’t in the field of geriatrics. Their main reason is because of Medicare. According to research, Medicare is providing people with health insurance coverage but sometimes it offers payments that are lower than private insurance. That means that people that are caring for older adults are earning less than what their colleagues are making. The demand for people in the field of geriatrics will increase with the aging population. Family caregivers won’t be able to keep up with the growing demand of caregiving. The most important point here is caring for the older generation and making sure they receive the best care as possible in the near future. I propose that for health care providers, training should be recommended or even mandatory when caring for older adults. The quality of care should be improved in the future so that the older population receives the best quality of care. Caring for older adults is in our hands. We need to make a change to better the health of the older population. Everyone deserves the best possible care