Baby Boomers - A Healthcare Crisis Nears

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Article Title:

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Baby Boomers - A Healthcare Crisis Nears

Article Description:

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Baby boomers are quickly approaching retirement age, and as they

do, there are a number of concerns that need to be addressed,

particularly in the area of healthcare. Unfortunately, there

appears to be no easy answers to the healthcare problems that

baby boomers, and the population in general, will face in the

very near future.

Additional Article Information:

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1120 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line

Distribution Date and Time: 2006-07-25 11:24:00

Written By: Heath Atchison

Copyright: 2006

Contact Email: mailto:heath.atchison@...

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Baby Boomers - A Healthcare Crisis Nears

Copyright © 2006 Heath Atchison

Long-Term Care Insurance Blog

http://long-term-care-insurance-info.blogspot.com/

Baby boomers are quickly approaching retirement age, and as they

do, there are a number of concerns that need to be addressed,

particularly in the area of healthcare. Unfortunately, there

appears to be no easy answers to the healthcare problems that

baby boomers, and the population in general, will face in the

very near future.

Baby Boomers are people who were born between 1946 and 1964.

During this period of time the United States of America saw an

explosion in birthrates that had never been seen before and

nothing like it has been seen since. Today, baby boomers make up

approximately 28% of the total United States of America

population.

With this group of people occupying such a large segment of the

population, it is predicted that there will be a major financial

strain on the healthcare industry as a whole, as baby boomers

reach retirement age. There are many reasons why the healthcare

industry will face problems as baby boomers begin to retire and

begin to need long-term care services.

Baby Boomers Are The Nurses

Go to any healthcare facility today and look around at the nurses

who are working there. One thing will become abundantly clear to

you; the vast majority of nurses working in healthcare are in

fact baby boomers themselves. We have heard for the past few

years about nursing shortages and predictions that these nursing

shortages will only get worse.

There are many reasons why the United States of America currently

faces nursing shortages. Traditionally, nursing has been a career

dominated by women. Women have made great strides in efforts to

gain equality over the past few decades; much of this progress is

attributed to women who are from the baby boomer generation. With

these strides in equality, women have realized that they have

many more career choices other than being a nurse, a

schoolteacher, or a homemaker. Today women are running the

largest corporations in America, making great salaries, and

receiving high levels of prestige.

A Two-Fold Problem

As baby boomers retire a two-fold problem is created. First,

there will be even fewer nurses, because baby boomers make up

such a large part of the current nursing workforce. The second

part of the problem is that as baby boomers, 28% of our

population, retire they will require more healthcare as a part of

the aging process.

As you can see, there are some serious healthcare problems that

need to be addressed. Leaders in the healthcare industry have

been working extremely hard in trying to find a solution. Sadly

their efforts are only making minimal impacts in increasing the

nursing workforce.

Healthcare companies have tried everything from raising salaries

to offering outrageous sign on bonuses. Money does not seem to

be the key to get people interested in nursing. Survey a group of

nurses and most will not complain about their salary. What they

will complain about is the day-to-day workloads that they face.

Nurses are overworked and carry larger and larger patient loads

as a result of shortages.

Combine this with the fact that nurses, who typically get into

healthcare to provide direct patient care, are being forced to do

more administrative type tasks. Some of these tasks include

excessive charting to meet requirements set forth by Medicare and

insurance companies, and trying to get patients care certified,

or paid for, by insurance companies. Most nurses did not become

nurses to sit behind a computer and to talk on the phone for

hours.

How This Will Effect Baby Boomers?

Advancements in medical technology and science means that people

are living longer. This does not always mean that there is a high

quality of life for those that are living longer though. Many of

these people who would have died from a medical condition two

decades ago can now live for a long time to come. These people

often require a great deal of long-term care, whether it is at

home or in a long-term care facility.

Those receiving long-term care at home require nurses to help

them with their day-to-day tasks. The following is a quote taken

directly from the Medicare website

(http://www.medicare.gov/LongTermCare/Static/Home.asp)

" Generally, Medicare doesn't pay for long-term care. Medicare

pays only for medically necessary skilled nursing facility or

home health care. However, you must meet certain conditions for

Medicare to pay for these types of care. Most long-term care is

to assist people with support services such as activities of

daily living like dressing, bathing, and using the bathroom.

Medicare doesn't pay for this type of care called " custodial

care " . Custodial care (non-skilled care) is care that helps you

with activities of daily living. It may also include care that

most people do for themselves, for example, diabetes

monitoring. "

There is also a great deal of talk about whether or not Medicare

will even be around in the coming decades. Consider the fact that

28% of the population will no longer be contributing to Medicare

via taxes, while at the same time that 28% will be using more of

the resources.

Is It All Really That Bleak?

Yes and no. It is true that there are no easy solutions in the

foreseeable future to help deal with the nursing shortage, while

the need for nurses will increase dramatically. It is also true

that the economics of supply and demand will create a situation

where healthcare will become even more expensive, while

healthcare providers continue to raise salaries in hopes of

attracting nurses.

So where is the good news you ask? The good news is that nurse

recruitments are showing " some " success. Young people are

showing a renewed interest in nursing, due in large part to huge

marketing campaigns put out by nursing schools and healthcare

organizations. The flip side of this is that these young people

are going for the high level nursing degrees such as Registered

Nurse (R.N.) and Nurse Practitioners (N.P.), but the lower level

(lower paying) jobs such as Certified Nursing Assistants

(C.N.A.'s) and Certified Medical Assistants (C.M.A.'s) remain

understaffed. These are the ones usually providing direct care

while the RN's and Licensed Practical Nurses (L.P.N.'s) are

meeting accreditation requirements by doing all of the charting

and talking to insurance companies.

The other good news is that insurance companies are planning

ahead and offering long-term care insurance plans that will allow

you or your loved ones the ability to be able to pay nurses for

long-term care services. Many baby boomers are taking their

future into their own hands by taking out these long-term care

insurance policies.

Finally, leaders in government and the healthcare industry are

working diligently to address what is a predictable issue. Since

these are predictable events, they can be planned for as much as

possible.

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Heath Atchison writes on topics related to long term healthcare

and healthcare in general. He holds a Masters in Health Services

Administration and has worked for over 10 years in the healthcare

industry. You can read more of his articles on his Long Term

Health Care Blog where he discusses the latest news and issues

effecting the long-term care health industry. To learn more

about issues in long-term healthcare, please visit:

http://long-term-care-insurance-info.blogspot.com