The Target Market: Demographics Paper - Essay Example

The target market is between the ages of 45 and 65, although many will be older than 65. Because the boomers are living longer, many companies have started marketing directly to them because they are in need of a variety of products. There is an understanding that boomers will cost more as they age and they will use more types of products. There are many companies that are not only including retirement plans as a way to lure boomers, but also there is a growing movement for older people to stay in their homes as long as possible instead of going to a nursing home.

Population Demographics Baby boomers (boomers) are aging and this means that there will be a stronger need for healthcare in the future. Currently, there are 55 million baby boomers who are making up the aging population. Thirty five million of these boomers are 65 years old and older. Between the years 2000 and 2010 the age group of 45 to 65 grew to include 26.4% of the population, each year, 3.5 million boomers turn 55 (Pirkl, 2009). Because they are living longer than older generations and because they have more energetic lifestyles than previous generations, it can be said that they will increase exponentially by 2020.

General Impact on Health Care As President Obama details his plan for healthcare reform, one of the challenges is that many older people are staying at home longer instead of going to nursing homes. This means that there will be a need for homecare services that include everything from nursing care to in home services to help the elderly live longer. According to Hogan (2011) 90% of older seniors have at least one major healthcare problem and 50% of those have at least two major healthcare problems.

Those older adults with diseases like Alzheimer’s will need longer care and will need care from professionals in addition to the family members who are taking care of them. Why and How these Changes will Affect Health Care Garrett and Martini (2007) found through a study on healthcare costs and the aging population that impact of aging on future cost varied across chronic diseases. They found that the most money that would be spent would be because of coronary heart disease, but there would be a decrease in healthcare for pregnancy and infertility care.

They also found that as people aged, healthcare for diabetes would be a disease that would have higher costs in this population. In light of these changes, it is clear to see that some people would pay more for healthcare than others and that specific problems may occur with paying for medicine. As an example, most healthcare programs have a co-pay for medicines. If a person has to pay for three or more medicines each month, they may not be able to afford them all at once. This could mean a compromise in care for them and their condition.

More people may be forced to go to the emergency rooms when they are very ill instead of going to the doctor when they first become ill. The rising cost of emergency room care will highly effect healthcare costs. Two Key Health Care Related Challenges The two key health care related challenges that I foresee are increases in healthcare costs and in prescription drug costs. Many seniors are already paying close to $100 for their Medicare premiums and since social security has not given a cost of living raise in two years, this amount can be exorbitant for many seniors.

New seniors will pay $115 per month for these same