The past few days in the stock market have been quite interesting. On Tuesday the stock market dipped 500 points, but on Tuesday it rose about 600 points! Talks of a recession have made the stock market completely volatile shaking it all over the place. According to some polls the economy has replaced the war in Iraq as the number one concern amongst the American populous. Another concern is our health care. There are many candidates that are beginning to form specific health care plans for our present situation, but it’s also very important to look at our needs in the future. A recent article states the following statistics:
- By 2030, the number of Americans age 65 and up will have more than doubled — to more than 70 million — accounting for nearly one in five people.
- The nation’s health care costs double to about $4 trillion — with half of it spent on care for the elderly.
- As many as 16 million Americans could have Alzheimer’s by 2050, and Medicare spending on their care will exceed $1 trillion, or 40 percent of the money spent by the federal health program.
- Cancer diagnoses are expected to double from 1.3 million to 2.6 million in 2050. Cancer care cost more than $206 billion in 2006.
- By 2030, arthritis will afflict 67 million adults. Arthritis and related conditions already cost the nation $128 billion a year in medical care and lost productivity.
- Deaths from heart disease are expected to increase 2.5 times faster than the population as a whole, with the prevalence of hear disease rising 16 percent each decade.
- Parkinson’s disease, which typically occurs at age 60, already affects up to 1 million Americans and costs the nation more than $26 billion a year.
I find these statistics very daunting to deal with and feel like our country hasn’t even begun to address this large and looming issue. There have been some institutions that have begun to break down this problem, but we have long time to go in a very short time.
This article was adapted from information distributed through The Press Democrat.
