Column #27

        •    Greatest Generation                  1910-1925
        •    Silent Generation                       1923-1944
        •    Baby Boomer Generation         1945-1964
        •    Generation X                               1965-1979
        •    The Millennials                            1980-1995
        •    Generation Z                               1995-2015

Let’s face it, Americans are living longer, getting sicker, and healthcare costs are soaring.

A report published by the Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics spells it out. It projects that in 15 years Americans aged 65 and older will nearly double in number to 67 million.

In 2030 the average elderly Medicare recipient is projected to be slightly younger, more educated, more likely to have never smoked, and more likely to live at least a year longer than those of today because of medical treatments. But most of them will be obese, disabled, and have even more chronic conditions. The obesity rate alone is expected to double to one out of every two Americans in 15 years.

In 2010 the life expectancy of 65-year-olds was 20.1 years. In 2030 it’s projected to increase by one year or five percent. Because recipients will be sicker, the healthcare tab will increase more than five percent. But it gets worse. In 2010, 65-year-olds with grave illnesses and disabilities were expected to live about 7.5 years. That’s projected to increase to 8.6 years by 2030 for a 14 percent increase. This latter group requires more expensive healthcare.

The study predicts that Medicare spending per beneficiary will grow for all elderly age groups. At age 65, in 2010, it was estimated a typical lifetime beneficiary would cost Medicare $131,000. Because of rising life expectancy, more chronic conditions, and increasing medical costs, in 2030 the average total lifetime Medicare cost for a 65-year-old will increase 70 percent to $223,000.

When looking at total Medicare expenditures in constant dollars, expectations are they will more than double from $510 billion today to $1.2 trillion in 2030 with most of that increase caused by sicker Baby Boomers.

I was born in 1944. My peers are the Silent and Baby Boomer generations. Far and away most of them ignore suggestions for improving their diet. Some pretend they do, but they have no real interest in learning what is actually a healthy diet and no ambition for walking the talk. They seemingly don’t understand that all chronic diseases are symptoms of body failures caused by abuse: the greatest abuse being the food they eat.

All of my peers make regular doctor visits for chronic diseases, take medications, and many have had operations. Since chronic diseases are ubiquitous, people assume their afflictions are normal signs of aging. They even brag about their chronic diseases!

Maybe my generation believes it needn’t worry about paying for its reckless ways. Today’s Millennials are famous for supporting the human rights concept for housing, food, schooling and healthcare. Will the younger generation pick up the healthcare tab for sick retirees in 2030?

For all of time man’s food was primarily grass-fed and Omega-3 meats, wild-caught seafood, green leafy vegetables, and limited amounts of tart fruit. Deviations from that diet damages the immune system, causes inflammation, and retards mental facilities. I would rather eat properly and pay more for food than eat improperly, be sick most of the time, require a doctor’s care, drugs, and high healthcare costs.

When will the masses realize they are responsible for the consequences of what they eat?

To your health.

Ted Slanker

Ted Slanker has been reporting on the fundamentals of nutritional research in publications, television and radio appearances, and at conferences since 1999. He condenses complex studies into the basics required for health and well-being. His eBook, The Real Diet of Man, is available online.

For additional reading:

Medicare Seniors Will Live Longer But Sicker, Study Finds

The Baby Boomers Will Shift the Health Status of the Medicare Population

Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics