HED 044 Lecture Notes - Lecture 31: Richard Lamm, Moe Williams, Diabetic Retinopathy
2 Nov 2020
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Older people often take drugs for many conditions. Risk of broken bones leading to disability. When person has osteoporosis, risk of broken bones. Cataracts from exposure to sunlight; glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration. Medicare does not cover dental care, eyeglasses, or hearing aids alzheimer"s and other. Costs up to billion per year in long term care. Biomedical research and epidemiologic studies are beginning to give clues on risk factors. No effective treatment known, but some studies are giving hope. Even delaying onset by a few years could substantially reduce the financial and personal burden. Medicare enrollment has doubled since 1967 and will continue to grow. Cost per enrollee is rising, even faster than health care costs in general. More of costs being shifted to the individual. Medicare does not pay for long term care. Medicaid pays for long term care - strain on state budgets. Changes in family structure mean families are less able to care for elderly relatives.
