First few Article Sentences
This Time Is Different
The baby-boomer generation is now turning 65 at the rate of 10,000 a day and will continue to do so for the next 18 years. According to the 2010 census, 40.3 million citizens are 65 or older, an increase of 5 million since the 2000 census. This segment of the population is growing faster than the population as a whole. The average 65-year-old spends approximately four times as much on healthcare services as the average 40-year-old. These changing demographics, and the increasing healthcare costs associated with them, create a healthcare environment that differs from the past.
While "healthcare reform" may mean different things to different people, there is now fairly unanimous agreement that our current system of providing and paying for healthcare services is not financially sustainable. Regardless of what the Supreme Court may decide with respect to the 2010 healthcare legislation, "healthcare reform," directed at the manner in which we provide and pay for healthcare services, is already well underway.