NEWS--U.S. healthcare not ready for boomers

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U.S. healthcare not ready for boomers

Washington | December 31, 2005 12:01:13 AM IST

The U.S. healthcare system is not ready for the baby boom generation

moving into retirement, geriatric care specialists say.

Medical resources will be inadequate for the boomer generation --

the 35 million to 70 million that will be retiring in less than 20

years, the Washington Times reported Friday.

The shortage will be disastrous. It's really scary, says

Bodoff, executive director of the Center for Aging Services

Technology with the American Association of Homes and Services for

the Aging.

The health of U.S. adults age 65 and older has been improving since

the early 1980s, however, diseases such as obesity and diabetes are

increasingly prevalent among the young, suggesting that future

Medicare beneficiaries might be less healthy than current ones.

The National Center for Health Statistics says 40 percent of U.S.

adults age 45 to 64 have high blood pressure, while 36 percent are

obese -- both risk factors for heart disease and stroke.