ABSTRACT
Modern industrial societies are characterized by both long-term declines in fertility and steady increases in life expectancy. The result is a marked aging of the population, measured by growing numbers of older people, an increase in their proportion of the total population, and a rise in the average age. There is no doubt that the growing numbers of elderly and their extended life expectancy present a major crisis to our system of providing and paying for health care. In terms of cost, close to one-third of all Medicare expenditures are spent on the terminally ill. For a majority of older people, housing is not a problem; indeed, their home may be their major asset. In contrast to younger householders, three-fourths of householders sixty-five and older own their homes, and a similar proportion have paid off their mortgages.
