Consequences of older population - Research Paper Example

Download file to see previous pages The United States of America financesthe provision of services such as healthcare, housing, and social security. Most of these funds go to the older population, who do not comprise the working population since they are beyond retirement age. While the population of older persons benefit from the government expenditure, the younger population is disadvantaged. This is because their contribution to the social security and healthcare services is much higher than that of the older population. The aging population in USA therefore affects the cost of healthcare and social security services. With people above the age of sixty-five years being prevalent in the population, policies are implemented in order to cater for the needs of the aged. These policies burden the younger population, as the young workforce is compelled to dig deeper in their pockets to ensure that the aged are provided for. Since the older population does not have an income, the burden of providing for the aged shifts to the young members of the society who are working and economically productive (Kevin and Wan, 2008 p95). An aging population in the United States has great implications on the delivery of healthcare services. As people age, they are likely to suffer from chronic illnesses. With the shortage of health care workers such as nurses to take care for the old, this burden is likely to fall on the young members of the society and especially the family members of the sick individual. Chronic illnesses are always associated with old age disability. This means that there will be the need to come up with long-term Medicare services such as personal care, nursing homes, adult day care, and homes for the aged (Wiener and Tilly, 2011). The services to cater for the aged are financed by the younger working population, since the old are not in a position to contribute towards the expenditure needed by the government to fund healthcare. The provision of healthcare mainly targets the aged, with policy implementation mainly focusing on the older population. Through taxation, the younger population bears the burden of compensating for the money needed to cater for the health of the old(Kevin and Wan, 2008 p96). Disability in old age is yet another problem that causes burdens to the younger population. The high numbers of older people in the society means that most of them are disabled and therefore they cannot contribute towards economic activities that benefit the country. The burden of having to work and bring economic growth passes on to the younger population. As a result, the younger population work for long hours and yet they do not enjoy similar benefits accorded to the aged. The government has some provisions for the aged population, which do not consider the young. The younger population works to supplement the government’s expenditure on programs that tend to favor the aged (Wiener and Tilly, 2011). Unlike the old, the younger population spends more money on healthcare. This is because there are no strong health policies that support the young to enhance their access to healthcare. The cost of healthcare in the United States is considerably high. High cost of health services means that people will have to spend more money on Medicare. The government subsidizes the older population and this makes their access to health easier than the younger population(Martha and Virpi, 2011 p325). In order to cover up for the finances used to fund the services ...Download file to see next pagesRead More