Joe Randolph, president and CEO of the Innovation Institute, looks at the implications of “personalized medicine,” which will probably allow many more people to live much longer and thus cause an big expansion in the number of elderly people.
He raises these questions:
- “What will the cost be for living longer?
- “Who will have access to the advances?
- “What other problems does extending life create?
- “If people live longer, will they work longer? What’s the impact on retirement and Social Security?”
“The healthcare system and society need to prepare and think about the impacts these advances will have so that the benefits can be shared by all and not just those with means to afford the advances.”