Healthcare Reform: The Effect On Elderly Health Disparities

Healthcare Reform: The Effect On Elderly Health Disparities

Healthcare Reform: The Effect on Elderly Health Disparities
July 9, 2010

Introduction

This paper will address the newest Health-care Reform and the effect on elderly disparities.   Because the elderly have been overlooked for many years, it will be a welcome to have reformations based totally on them.   The elderly have suffered disparities from the lack of adequate treatment to the mistreatment in long term care facilities.   Health-care reform is expected to address these issues to make sure the elderly know they have not been overlooked or forgotten.  
All too long, the elderly have had to cover excessive costs that were in conjunction with their Medicare.   They have been passed over by medical staff due to the lower amount that Medicare was willing to pay for their care. With the Health-care reform, Medicare will no longer be looked upon in a negative manner.   The elderly will have less out of pocket expenses in reference to the “doughnut hole” that is left over by Medicare.   They will begin to receive the attention and care they deserve.
The Creation of Medicare
Healthcare for the elderly has been a concern since the early 1950’s.   At that time, even though privatization was in place, many of the elderly were not being reached by the private insurances.   They were considered high risk by many of these companies due to the thought that age brought about sickness (Clemmitt, 2009).   This prompted Congress to create a special Aging Committee to investigate many of the issues of the elderly, which included the insurance issues.
President Harry Truman set out to create a Health-care system that would assist the elderly and poor.   With his venture, he met great opposition from many because of the dramatic change that would take effect.   The law would not pass while he was in office, but after eight years of debate, on July 30, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson, a longtime proponent, signed the program into law, giving public coverage to 19 million...