For much of the developed world, health care for a surging elderly population looms as one of the most daunting problems of the coming decade. In this book, contributors from diverse disciplinary backgrounds and countries discuss resource allocation for the elderly and debate plans for the years ahead. Essays focus on five general issues: the meaning of old age, the goals of medicine and health care for the elderly, the balance between the needs of the young and old, the pressures of other social priorities, and the role of families, especially the burden on women, in long-term care. In consideration of the difficult moral and practical issues involved, the editors conclude the volume with a special report containing policy recommendations from representatives of eight countries (the United States, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom). This important volume will be of interest to policymakers and a broad spectrum of health care professionals, as well as to anyone interested in the fate of the elderly or in coming health care challenges.
IntroductionDaniel Callahan, Ruud H. J. ter Meulen, and Eva Topinkova 1. How We Care for the ElderlyMark J. Hanson 2. The Meaning of Old Age: Scenarios for the FutureHarry R. Moody 3. Aging and the Life Cycle: A Moral Norm?Daniel Callahan4. Life Extension and the Meaning of LifePaul van Tongeren 5. Will There Be a Scarcity of Resources? The Future Demand for Care by the ElderlyAnneke van den Berg Jeths and Mats Thorslund 6. Effects of Population Aging on Health Care Expenditure and Financing: Some IllustrationsReiner Leidl 7. Caring for the Elderly: Priorities for an Aging PopulationMats Thorslund and Marti G. Parker 8. Solidarity with the Elderly and the Allocation of ResourcesRuud H. J. ter Meulen 9. The Elderly and High Technology TherapiesBryan Jennett 10. The Meaning of Old Age Impeded by Chronic DiseaseGebhard Allert, Gerlinde Sponholz, Helmut Baitsch, and Frieder Keller 11. Family Caregiving for the Elderly: Are There Ways to Meet the Need?Eva Topinkova 12. Adult Daughter Caregivers: Philosophical Analysis and Implications for Health Care PolicySarah Vaughan Brakman 13. Institutional Care of the Elderly: Lessons from HungaryBela Blasszauer 14. From Generation to Generation: Why U.S. Health Care Reform Is So Difficult in the Twentieth CenturyW. Andrew Achenbaum 15. What Do We Owe the Elderly? Allocating Social and Health Care ResourcesRuud H. J. ter Meulen, Eva Topinkova, and Daniel Callahan
