"We can afford to get older" (Myth Busting for Aging Societies)
With more and more older people, will health spending explode? This is a very common myth which comes from outdated and superficial economic models. In fact, to invest in healthy ageing means to save money in the long run.
Increased public spending on health can be good news, because it can point to the immense innovation which we have seen in medicine and in medical systems.
Still, rising health expenditure worries many.
Public spending on health has been rising in all OECD countries. Some argue that the demographic trend of societal ageing is its main driver. Besides the fact that this sentiment can easily result in the discriminatory view that older people are “the problem”, there is also not clear evidence to support this claim.
The popularity of this idea comes from outdated economic models. Older people today are healthier than older people of the past. Health economists now use much more accurate models to reflect how the relationship between health and public spending actually works.
To counter common myths such as the one above, the EU-funded “FutuRes” research project is launching the series “Myth Busting for Ageing Societies”. Ageing, our experts explain, is neither “somebody else’s problem” nor is it a “problem” at all. Rather, such ideas are often mere excuses in order to avoid political action.
Join us to hear more about common misconceptions on ageing - and to ask your questions directly to our experts: register now for our virtual Press Hour: Thursday, December 14, 2024, 11.00 – 11.50 am CET.
https://futu-res.eu/virtual-press-hour-myth-busting-ageing-societies
Register here to participate: https://survey.demogr.mpg.de/index.php/446741?lang=en
Contact: Wissenschaftlicher Ansprechpartner: Originalpublikation:
https://www.futu-res.eu
https://futu-res.eu/publications/myth-busts
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