Economic
As indicated by Barber, the increased life expectancy for Canadians presents a significant challenge to the delivery of health care. The primary demand factors which are commonly identified as determinants of rising health care costs are insurance and an aging population.1 Having more insurance allows people to consume more health care, and being older (therefore, presumably more in need of health care) predisposes them to do so. This paper will examine the relationship between the changing elderly demographic and the cost of health care, including institutionalized care. It will also discuss alternatives in restructuring the system to accommodate this population trend.II. Aging Escalates Health Care Costs - Substantiating this Claim The following elementary equation shows the basic calculation of total expenditure: E x N = Eold x Nold + Eyoung x Nyoungwhere E represents per capita expenditurethe subscript young indicates the under age 65 demographicthe subscript old indicates the over age 65 demographic (yellow book)In describing the relationship between aging and health care costs, health care economists primarily look at tw
52%SOURCE: Health Care Insurance Commission, Annual Report for the Year Ended June 30, 1977 (Edmonton, 1977); Alberta Hospitals and Medical Care, Statistical Supplement, Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan, 1987-88 (Edmonton, 1988)*Original data was presented in the indicated source separately for females and males; health care spending for females exceeded that for males by approximately55% in 1988 and 48% in 1977. Fries, "Ageing, Natural Death, and the Compression of Morbidity," New England Journal of Medicine, 303, 3 (July, 1980), pp. As discussed earlier, the aging population will ultimately leave the health delivery system to deal with chronic conditions far more often than acute ones. They develop slowly and asymptomatically below a clinical threshold, at which the process becomes clinically evident,progresses, and often culminates in death or disability. Health and Welfare Canada, National Health Expenditures in Canada 1975-1985 (Ottawa, 1987). 4 Unfortunately, calculating institutional spending levels to specific age groups cannot be accurate due to fixed administrative and structural costs. These include arthritis, arteriosclerosis, adult-onset diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cancer, cirrhosis and senility. o variables - the pace at which the elderly demographic is growing, and the cost of caring for the aged in relation to the cost of caring for the young. Evidence that current trends are opposite to what Fries recommends can be seen in the staffing of special-care homes over the last two decades. 13 Though this is a relatively easy and direct procedure, it may not be a particularly valid one, say some analysts. The increase in expenditures may rather be due to scientific progress in the area of health care for the elderly.
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Acceptance Essays
