(Census, 1986). The fastest growing population segment is the 65 years old and older group a group requiring more health care than is required by younger persons, and more costly health care than that required for younger persons (Siegler, & Childress, 1984). In the 1980s, health care expenditures account for approximately 10 percent of the gross national product (Health, 1983). Further, the rate of price inflation for health care costs is higher than that for all items (Consumer price index for urban," 1986; "Consumer price index for all," 1986). Thus, during the remaining years of the decade of the eighties and well into the 1990s, health care costs can be reasonably expected to consume an increasingly larger proportion of the country's gross national product.
Health care costs for the elderly will consume an increasingly larger share of total health care expenditures. While the 65 and over group is the fastest growing segment of the American population, the 75
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