Mr.
John Rother, Director of Policy and Strategy, AARP,
talked about "Beyond 50" in an interview
with May Wu, director of Scanews.com.
By Scanews
There's good news and bad news about the health
security of Americans 50+, as highlighted in a new
report from AARP. Americans age 50+ are healthier and
living longer overall, but their long-term health
security remains at risk.
The report finds some unexpected age and economic
groups are threatened with losing essential
health-care components such as insurance coverage and
access to care. Beyond 50: A Report to the Nation on
Trends in Health Security, released today by AARP, is
the most comprehensive picture to date of the state of
health care for midlife and older Americans. It's the
second in a series of annual reports from AARP on the
status of Americans age 50 and over.
"Americans age 50+ have the chance to capitalize
on wonderful advances in medical care and public
health. But they need a chain of dominoes to fall
right-initial good health, adequate health care
coverage, access to quality care, and a system that
encourages informed decision-making," said AARP
Policy and Strategy Director John Rother.
"Missing one of these dominoes puts a
person's-and a generation's-whole health security at
risk."
Among the report's highlights:
* At age 50, Americans can expect to live another 30
years, almost nine years longer than expected in 1900,
and fewer are suffering disabilities.
* Although Americans age 50+ are healthier, with fewer
smoking and more using preventive services and trying
to exercise, obesity could cancel out many of the
gains.
* More people age 50 to 64 are uninsured than in the
past, but even those with insurance are worried about
losing what coverage they have or receiving fewer
benefits in the future. Medicare doesn't cover
prescription drugs and few Americans have long-term
care insurance. Out-of-pocket spending on long-term
care and spending on prescription drugs represent the
greatest health-related financial risks for older
Americans.
* About one in five Americans age 50 and older say
they or their spouse help a disabled relative or
friend with everyday activities. Caregivers age 50+
average more than 20 hours of care per week. More than
half provide this care five years or more.
* Total health-care costs rose dramatically over the
last 20 years. Average total health-care spending
among Americans 50 and older rose 310 percent, nearly
twice as fast as inflation. That figure excludes
nursing home costs. More than four in 10 with lower
incomes spent 10 percent or more of their income on
health care.
* There's a generation gap in health-care expectations
and behavior. Fifty to 64-year-olds expect more and
want more control of their health care. But control is
harder to exercise as health-care systems become
increasingly complex and fragmented.
* Health-care perceptions and preferences of the 50+
population often conflict with reality. Many misjudge
quality of care, misunderstand long-term care and its
costs, or overestimate the extent to which pain at the
end of life is actually being controlled.
"It's
a good news/bad news report," said Rother.
"Personal behavior can make a positive difference
in people's health and longevity, but health care for
Americans age 50+ is harder to get, to pay for, and to
manage. The health-care system is a non-system."
To ensure access to and delivery of high-quality,
affordable care so people live longer and healthier,
the report concludes that certain policy implications
cannot be ignored.
* Solutions must address a population of midlife and
older Americans that is increasingly more racially and
ethnically diverse. Those whose health security is at
risk include not only low-income people but also
racial and ethnic minorities.
* Health and long-term care systems must emphasize
improved quality of life and the need for people to be
active and function independently-not just live
longer.
* The public health system needs to be strengthened to
better promote positive health behaviors, deliver
services, control environmental risks, and contribute
to an information infrastructure that enables
individuals to better manage their health and health
care.
* Addressing the general lack of long-term care
coverage and the increasing inadequacy and instability
of health care coverage, including prescription drugs,
should be a priority.
* Health and long-term care quality must be improved
so that consumers receive greater value for their
health-care dollars.
* Public/private collaboration is needed on a health
information system that will facilitate improvements
in clinical care as well as help individuals navigate
increasingly complex and fragmented health-care
systems. Health literacy requires particular
attention.
Changes in health security during the last 20 years
have been driven by increased reliance on prescription
drugs and other innovative technologies, changes in
chronic disease and challenges in chronic care,
greater longevity with functional limitations,
patients roles and responsibilities as consumers, and
fluctuating cost growth, the report finds. These same
factors are likely to influence future health
security. "The challenges are to find the right
balance between individual and collective financial
risk, between medical and supportive care, between
private and public sector roles, between individual
autonomy and public safety, and between public health
and personal health services," Beyond 50
concludes.
AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership
organization for people 50 and over. It provides
information and resources; advocates on legislative,
consumer, and legal issues; assists members to serve
their communities; and offers a wide range of unique
benefits, special products, and services for its
members. Active in every state, the District of
Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands,
AARP celebrates the attitude that age is just a number
and life is what you make it.
To contact with AARP, please call 1-800-424-3410 or
202-434-2277, Email your questions to member@aarp.org,
or visit its website at http://www.aarp.org
Ms.
Anita K. Parran and Mr. John Rother
Mr.
John Rother, Director of Policy and Strategy, AARP
John Rother is the Director of Policy and Strategy for
the AARP. He is responsible for the federal and state
public policies of the Association, for international
initiatives, and for formulating AARP's overall
strategic direction. He is an authority on Medicare,
managed care, long-term care, Social Security,
pensions and the challenges facing the boomer
generation.
Prior to coming to AARP in 1984, Mr. Rother served
eight years in the U.S. Senate as Special Counsel for
Labor and Health to former Senator Jacob Javits
(R-NY), then as Staff Director and Chief Counsel for
the Special Committee on Aging under its Chairman,
Senator John Heinz (R-PA).
He serves on several Boards and Commissions, including
Generations United, the Health Care Quality Forum, the
American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation,
National Academy on Aging, Civic Ventures, and
Citizens for Long Term Care.
He is a frequently quoted in the news, and regularly
presents at conferences and congressional briefings.
Throughout 1996, Mr. Rother was on special sabbatical
assignment to study the consumer implications of the
managed care revolution and the economic challenges
facing the boomer generation.
John Rother is an honors graduate of Oberlin College
and the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
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