Aging and Public Health

Question 1

What is aging?

Answer 1

Becoming old and showing the effects or the characteristics of increasing age; acquiring a desirable quality by standing undisturbed for some time

Question 2

What are some characteristics of human aging?

Answer 2

Collective effects of physical, psychological and social changes over the lifespan; some improve with aging, some don’t, and some improve and then decline

Question 3

Which country has the highest population of individuals > 65 in the world?

Answer 3

Japan

Question 4

How many countries have negative population growth? Name some

Answer 4

20; Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Japan

Question 5

What are some aging issues?

Answer 5

Health, overall costs of health care, financial support for health care (Medicare), financial support for nursing home care (Medicaid), financial support for income (Social Security), adjustment over time in care, social support systems, politics

Question 6

What are some health issues that primarily affect the elderly?

Answer 6

Heart disease, Alzheimer’s, Osteoporosis, Macular degeneration and cataracts, arthritis, falls, drugs and drug reactions, social isolation

Question 7

What is the dilemma for Medicare associated with the elderly?

Answer 7

The current system is unsustainable financially

Question 8

Medicare makes up ___% of the federal budget and the number of ______ are projected to rise from ____ million to _____ million by 2030

Answer 8

15, beneficiaries, 53, 78

Question 9

How is medicare funded today?

Answer 9

From a Hospital Trust Fund that will be exhausted in 2026

Question 10

What three factors contribute to the perfect storm of medicare’s failure

Answer 10

High and rising costs of care, aging of population, increasing elderly dependency ratio

Question 11

What are some possible medicare solutions?

Answer 11

Increasing age of eligibility, increasing premiums for high-income beneficiaries, decreasing benefits, negotiating drug prices for Part D, means test, increasing payroll taxes, medical practice changes

Question 12

Medicare makes up ____% of state budgets and ____% of the federal budget

Answer 12

21, 9

Question 13

The rate of nursing home residence among people age 65 and older is…

Answer 13

Decreasing

Question 14

The poverty rate of the population >65 is…

Answer 14

Decreasing

Question 15

Labor force participation among people age 65+ is…

Answer 15

Increasing

Question 16

What are the problems with social security?

Answer 16

24% of federal budget, baby boomer retirement increases beneficiaries, currently in deficit period, reserves exhausted in 2003

Question 17

Where did the age 65 for retirement come from?

Answer 17

Bismarck, who set the German social insurance at age 70 and no one survived until then back then so it didn’t matter; later lowered to 65, so very few people survived; FDR implemented this in the Social Security Act of 1935

Question 18

What are some methods of fixing social security?

Answer 18

Raise beneficiary age, tax high-income recipients, means test, payroll taxes

Question 19

The drop in smoking rates has contributed to…

Answer 19

More seniors, healthier, longer survival after 65

Question 20

Methods of adverse health outcomes for the elderly include…

Answer 20

Exercise, avoiding tobacco and alcohol, controlling HBP, proper diet, weight control, vaccinations, physical environmental adjustments, avoiding social isolation, compressing morbidity

Question 21

Increased longevity among the elderly leads to…

Answer 21

Increased functional years, increased productivity, and other non-work opportunities