Thursday, November 17, 2011

Demograhpics of Boomers and Impact on Healthcare

With an aging boomer generation the cost of healthcare will only get progressively worse. Compound that with the overall poor health of fat Americans and you have a perfect storm of healthcare woes.

The Census Bureau reports that median household incomes dropped from $49,777 to $49,445, a of 0.7%. The employer share of healthcare premiums increased from $9,773 to $10,994. So let's add this up:

2010: $49,777 + $9,773 = $59,550
2011: $49,445 + $10,994 = $60,439

That counts as an increase of 1.5%. Adjusted for inflation, this is still a net loss, but it's a smaller one: about -1.2% instead of -3.4%.

With continued declines in household cash and increases in healthcare coverage everyone is taking home even less.