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Live Long and Flounder
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Live Long and Flounder

An Aging Expert on the Looming Crisis of Our Longer Lifespans

Mary Elizabeth Williams and M.T. Connolly
Medium, 2023
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8

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By 2030, one-fifth of all Americans will be older than 65, but few support structures are in place to help care for them. Salon senior writer Mary Elizabeth Williams discusses these questions with M.T. Connolly, author of The Measure of Our Age: Navigating Care, Safety, Money, and Meaning Later in Life. In this interview, published also on Medium, they discuss how ill-equipped the United States is to handle such a large population in need, the negative consequences of ageism, what American society should do and how older people can prepare to enjoy the rest of their lives.

Summary

The United States is ill-equipped to face the challenges of caring for its aging population.

Since about 1920, the life expectancy of the average American has increased by 30 years. People 85 and older are among the fastest-growing demographic groups in the United States. Research reveals that as many as 75% of them may require financial and medical assistance, and some are already dealing with a disability. However, the nation has little infrastructure to accommodate this massive surge in the number of older people who may need care.

Author M.T. Connolly, who explores these issues in her book, The Measure of Our Age: Navigating Care, Safety, Money, and Meaning Later in Life, explains that as baby boomers reach retirement age, the United States must find a solution for assisting in their care. 

One problem is that Medicare and most private health insurance policies do not cover long-term care. And, even people who can afford to go to a nursing home or adult living ...

About the Authors

Mary Elizabeth Williams is a senior writer for Salon. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Nation and elsewhere.

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