Public Healthcare Policies for the Elderly in the United States: Suggestions from a Comparison between South Korea and the United States

Abstract

As the aging population percentage rapidly increases across the world, leading to an increase in the necessity of long-term care, it is crucial for the government of the United States to implement changes to create more sustainable, and sufficient programs. This policy brief intends to identify problems in the current United States long-term health care system, and will try to find a possible suggestion to impede the gaps in the system. To bring a direct comparison and possible solutions, this brief will also investigate South Korea, a country with similar aging demographics and economic development as the United States. South Korea ranks 10th in GDP, and the elderly population comprise of 17.5% of the entire population (compared to 16% for the U.S). The South Korean examples of the policy suggest a few practical solutions to the issue, such as an increase in basing long term care eligibility on health status of an individual, rather than an emphasis on income eligibility. Targeted policies such as South Korea’s Alzheimer detection program should be more widely utilized for most chronic diseases in the United States. These types of prevention services will be able to help decrease the total amount of funding spent on these patients. Learning from South Korea’s policies can provide the U.S. with services that can adequately address the elderly population’s need for assistance and care.