Nurse Practitioners and Health

Healthcare Legislation

According to a research focused on examining elderly persons' health status for individual states, an aging population with better life expectancy, but increasing prevalence of chronic ailments like obesity and diabetes indicates an emergent healthcare crisis. According to Dr. Rhonda Randall, non-profit organization United Health Foundation's senior adviser, it has only been some years since Baby Boomers first began turning 65, triggering a huge population demographics shift (Healy, 2013). The American Geriatrics Society's chief executive, Jennie Chin Hansen, who has authored one commentary within the Foundation's U.S. Health Ranking Senior Report states that the report provides a vital collection of messages focused at individuals, families and communities, together with warnings to both lawmakers and healthcare practitioners. She further claims a few trends are highly cautionary and health sector workers must sincerely be prudent, purposive and considerable to ensure improvements in citizens' wellbeing and health. Although healthcare workers possess knowledge, they are yet to put it into practice. Randall asserts that if the growing national chronic ailment burden goes unaddressed, it will adversely impact both the economy and the overall welfare of senior citizens. She believes America has reached a critical point of time in history, wherein its health sector must closely examine this demographic shift and citizens' behavioral and health outcomes since, without measuring it, they would not be able to decide how to tackle it. Individuals retiring from the workforce are becoming greater healthcare service consumers.

Healthcare Legislation and the Elderly

Obamacare has served to strengthen and assure Medicare services for eligible aged individuals who have purchased the insurance. About 50 million disabled and aged American citizens depend on Medicare facilities per annum, and Obamacare reinforces it by including novel benefits, combating fraud, and enhancing patient care. Medicare Trust Fund (MTF) will continue up to 2024, at the very least, owing to Medicare expenditure growth retardations and reductions in waste, abuse and fraud. Further, in the next decade, Obamacare will bring about average Medicare savings of 4,200 dollars for patients. Medicare recipients with prescription drug expenditure reaching the "donut hole" can then save more than 16,000 dollars, on average. Under Obamacare, elderly citizens can enjoy free-of-cost recommended preventive health services including diabetes screening, flu vaccines and a novel Annual Wellness Appointment. Up till now, over 32.5 million aged individuals have received at least one of these free preventive health services, including an Annual Wellness checkup. In 2010-11, Obamacare helped more than 5.1 million disabled and elderly individuals covered by Medicare save more than 3.1b dollars on prescription medicine. The savings encompass a single rebate check of 250 dollars to elderly patients who were subject to what became known as the alleged "donut hole" (a gap in prescription medication coverage) in 2010, together with a 50% discount on branded drugs worth 2.1b dollars in total, (averagely 604 dollars per individual) (The Affordable Care Act Helps Seniors). January and February 2012 witnessed 70,000 disabled and aged citizens saving sixty-five million dollars with respect to the donut hole. Average Medicare beneficiaries will enjoy savings of around 4,200 dollars between 2011 and 2021, whereas individuals burdened by steep prescription medicine expenses will enjoy much larger savings, up to 16,000 dollars in the same time interval. This is great news for individuals suffering from diabetes, elevated blood pressure levels, and other chronic ailments needing daily dosages of medicines for several years. A seventeen percent growth in the share of elderly citizens enrolled in Medicare Advantage health plans was witnessed from 2010 to 2012, with plan premiums decreasing by sixteen percent. Further, elderly individuals all over America began enjoying various health plan options. Lastly, in 2012, Part B deductibles underwent a 22% decrease whereas premiums remained constant (The Affordable Care Act Helps Seniors). Obamacare also facilitates fraud prevention through stricter screening, harsher penalties, and advanced technology. Owing partly to the above efforts, the nation could recover 4.1 billion taxpayer dollars in the year 2011, with recoveries for 2012 reaching record-breaking levels. Overall recoveries of 10.7 billion dollars were observed for the past 3 years. Prosecutions increased as well; an almost-75% growth in fraud cases was witnessed from 2008 to 2011 (821 cases to 1,430 cases).