AN EXAMINATION OF THE PROBABLE IMPACT OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A MANAGED CARE REGIME ON HEALTHCARE FOR THE ELDERLY AND RESULTANT IMPACTS ON THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF ELDERLY PERSONS
1 - INTRODUCTION .............................. 1
Statement of the Problem .................. 1
Purpose of the Study ...................... 4
Definitions of Terms ..................... 5
2 - REVIEW OF LITERATURE ...................... 6
Introduction .............................. 6
Health Care Reform Proposals .............. 6
Benefits Standardization ............... 6
Insurance Practices .................... 8
Group Purchasing ....................... 11
The Long-Term Care System ................. 12
LTC Facilities .......... 15
The LTC Delivery System ................ 19
Care in LTC Facilities ............ 29
3 - CONCLUSION ................................ 35
REFERENCES ......................................... 37
Persons aged 65 years old or older account for approximately 12 percent of the American population. The average life span in the United States has increased from an expected 70 years in the mid-1960s to 79 years today. The expected life span for women is greater than that for men. Although the expected life span applies to individuals born in the year for which the statistic is determinedùnot for those individuals already in their elderly years, life expectancy increases have been projected for all age groupsùincluding the elderly (Hunter, 1998).
While the 65 years old and over group is the fastest growing segment of the overall American population, the 75 years old and over group is the fastest growing segment among those aged 65 years or older. Prior to the 1970s, the 75 years old and over segment of the population wa...