Baby boomers are rapidly approaching retirement age, and as they do, there are a number of concerns that need to be addressed, particularly in the area of ​​healthcare. Unfortunately, there don’t seem to be any easy answers to the health problems that baby boomers and the general population will face in the very near future.

Baby Boomers are people who were born between 1946 and 1964. During this time period, the United States of America saw an explosion in birth rates that had never been seen before and nothing like it has been seen since. Today, baby boomers make up about 28% of the total population of the United States of America.

Since this group of people occupies such a large segment of the population, it is predicted that there will be great financial pressure on the healthcare industry as a whole, as baby boomers reach retirement age. There are many reasons why the healthcare industry will face problems as baby boomers begin to retire and begin to need long-term care services.

The baby boomers are the nurses

Go to any healthcare facility today and look around at the nurses that work there. One thing will be very clear to you; the vast majority of nurses working in healthcare are, in fact, baby boomers. We have heard for the past few years about the nursing shortage and predictions that this nursing shortage will only get worse.

There are many reasons why the United States of America is currently facing a nursing shortage. Traditionally, nursing has been a career dominated by women. Women have made great strides in efforts to achieve equality in recent decades; much of this progress is attributed to women who belong to the baby boom generation. With these advances in equality, women have realized that they have many more career options besides being a nurse, schoolteacher, or homemaker. Today, women run America’s largest corporations, earn huge salaries and receive high levels of prestige.

a double trouble

As baby boomers retire, it creates a double problem. First, there will be even fewer nurses, because baby boomers make up a large part of today’s nursing workforce. The second part of the problem is that as baby boomers, 28% of our population, retire, they will require more medical care as part of the aging process.

As you can see, there are some serious health issues that need to be addressed. Health industry leaders have been working very hard to try to find a solution. Unfortunately, their efforts have only a minimal impact on growing the nursing workforce.

Health care companies have tried everything from raising wages to offering outrageous bonuses. Money doesn’t seem to be the key to getting people interested in nursing. Survey a group of nurses and most will not complain about their salary. What they will complain about is the daily workloads they face. Nurses are overworked and carrying ever-increasing patient loads as a result of shortages.

Combine this with the fact that nurses, who typically enter healthcare to provide direct patient care, are forced into more administrative-type tasks. Some of these tasks include excessive reporting to meet requirements set by Medicare and insurance companies, and trying to get insurance companies to certify or pay for patient care. Most nurses didn’t become nurses to sit behind a computer and talk on the phone for hours.

How will this affect baby boomers?

Advances in medical technology and science mean that people are living longer. However, this does not always mean that there is a high quality of life for those who live longer. Many of these people who would have died from a medical condition two decades ago are now able to live for a long time. These people often require a great deal of long-term care, either at home or in a long-term care facility.

Those receiving long-term care at home need nurses to help them with their daily tasks. The following is a quote taken directly from the Medicare website (http://www.medicare.gov/LongTermCare/Static/Home.asp)

“Medicare generally doesn’t pay for long-term care. Medicare pays only for medically necessary home health care or skilled nursing facility care. However, you must meet certain conditions for Medicare to pay for this type of care. Most long-term care is helping people with support services such as activities of daily living like dressing, bathing, and using the bathroom Medicare doesn’t pay for this type of care called “custodial care.” It helps you with activities of daily living. It can also include care that most people do for themselves, for example, managing diabetes.”

There is also a lot of talk about whether or not Medicare will exist for decades to come. Consider the fact that 28% of the population will no longer contribute to Medicare through taxes, while at the same time 28% will use more resources.

Is everything really so bleak?

Yes and no. It is true that there are no easy solutions in the foreseeable future to help address the nursing shortage, while the need for nurses will increase dramatically. It is also true that the supply and demand economics will create a situation where health care will become even more expensive, while health care providers will continue to raise wages in the hope of attracting nurses.

So where is the good news you ask? The good news is that nurse recruiting is showing “some” success. Young people are showing a renewed interest in nursing, due in large part to the huge marketing campaigns carried out by nursing schools and health organizations. The flip side of this is that these young people are seeking higher-level nursing degrees, such as Registered Nurses (RNs) and Nurse Practitioners (NPs), but lower-level (lower-paying) jobs like Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) and Certified Medical Assistants (CMAs) remain understaffed. These are the ones who typically provide direct care while RNs and Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) meet credentialing requirements by doing all the charting and talking to insurance companies.

The other good news is that insurance companies are planning ahead and offering long-term care insurance plans that will allow you or your loved ones to pay nurses for long-term care services. Many baby boomers are taking their future into their own hands by purchasing these long-term care insurance policies.

Finally, leaders in government and the healthcare industry are working diligently to address what is a predictable problem. Since these are predictable events, they can be planned as much as possible.