The White House on Monday unveiled several initiatives aimed at improving health outcomes among older adults, including plans to address Alzheimer’s disease, improve nursing home safety and bolster geriatric training among health care workers.
“One of the best measures of a country is how it treats its older citizens,” President Barack Obama said in remarks at the White House during the once-a-decade Conference on Aging.
During the conference, advocates, health care workers and government officials discussed caring for older Americans, touching on topics from health care policies to retirement plans. More than 600 watch parties occurred across the country, and viewers participated in the conversation through the #WHCOA hashtag on Twitter.
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The government is preparing for the stark reality that the number of people 65 and older is projected to grow rapidly, and that caring for them will be increasingly expensive. The aging baby boomer population is contributing to the growing demographic of Americans who will qualify for Medicare, the government’s health program for seniors, who were estimated to number 43 million in 2012 and projected to reach more than 80 million by 2050.
At the conference, Obama discussed the urgency of addressing the growing population of seniors, stressing the need to ensure there will be enough caretakers for them. A recent study by University of California-San Francisco researchers estimated that at least 2.5 million more home health and personal care aides will be needed to provide long-term services to seniors between now and 2030.
Part of addressing the issue, the president said, is improving family leave for workers and giving them more flexible hours. “I’m going to keep fighting to make family leave and workplace flexibility available to every American, no matter where they work,” Obama said. “It’s the right thing to do.”
Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell told the conference that another way to help the aging population would be for Congress to reauthorize the Older Americans Act, which would provide funding for things like meals and job training for seniors and for senior centers. The law has not been reauthorized since it expired in 2011.
Though the average life expectancy in the U.S. spans nearly 80 years, the quality of life for Americans can be dire because of chronic illnesses and conditions like cancer, diabetes, heart disease and dementia. About 80 percent of seniors have at least one chronic condition, and half have two or more. The current price tag for the most common chronic illnesses is more than $1 trillion a year, according to a study by the Milken Institute. By 2050, that number is expected to increase to $6 trillion.
Major goals the administration discussed in tandem with the conference included finding ways to prevent and treat Alzheimer’s disease by 2025 and developing a curriculum that health care workers can use to better care for patients with dementia. Another major initiative is a proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services targeting the care given to seniors in nursing homes. It aims to improve meal and antibiotic delivery, overhaul quality and safety requirements and make sure staff members are trained on caring for residents with dementia.
The American Health Care Association, which represents nursing homes, expressed concern about the financial burdens the industry could incur because of the new regulations, saying the burden of cost could reach $730 million in the first year and an additional $640 million per year after.
“We look forward to the opportunity to work with the White House and [the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services] to ensure that the new rules provide true benefit to patients and residents without unnecessary unfunded burden to providers,” Dr. David Gifford, senior vice president of quality and regulatory affairs for the AHCA, said in a statement.
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The conference comes at the cusp of the 50th anniversary of the creation of Medicare and Medicaid – the latter of which is the government’s health insurance program for low-income Americans that also assists families who can no longer pay fornursing home care. Though Obama touted the programs during his address, the Congressional Budget Office has warned they will be deeply strained by the aging population without spending reforms.
In 2013, Medicare spending neared $600 billion, accounting for 14 percent of the federal budget. Medicaid spending also continues to grow, with its coverage combining with the Children’s Health Insurance Program to reach 70 million Americans last year. Obama’s health care law, the Affordable Care Act, helped expand Medicaid eligibility, contributing to the growth of enrollees in the program.
The administration has said a quantity-over-quality approach in health care has contributed to the growth of such spending in the U.S. Providers often benefit financially if they offer more services, instead of offering fewer services that may result in better patient outcomes.
Reformers are aiming for a new approach, with the administration pushing for hospitals to curb readmissions, and the House recently passing the 21st Century Cures Act, which would speed the development of prescription drugs.
“The goal here is not to cut back on services,” Obama said. “The goal is to make sure that you’re getting more of the services that you need, less of the services you don’t, so you’ve got more money left over to do even more stuff that you need to keep you healthy and active and thriving.”
Though the growth in health care spending has decreased in recent years – a phenomenon most economists attribute to the Great Recession – there still remains deep concern about paying for health care services.
“We’ve got to keep slowing the growth of health care costs, and keep building on the progress we’ve already made in the past few years,” Obama said.
