Aging Population

The Impact of the Aging Population on the Health Workforce in the United States: Summary of Key Findings

March 2006

This study was funded by the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis Bureau of Health Professions Health Resources and Services Administration

Prepared by Center for Health Workforce Studies School of Public Health, University at Albany 7 University Place Rensselaer, NY 12144-3458

Impact of the Aging Population on the Health Workforce in the United States

The expected growth of the older adult population1 in the U.S. over the next 50 years will have an unprecedented impact on the U.S. health care system, especially in terms of supply of and demand for health care workers. The supply of health care workers may decrease as they age and large numbers retire and/or reduce their working hours. At the same time, older adults consume a disproportionately large share of American health care services, so demand for health services will grow. The aging of the population will also affect the nature of the skills and services the health care workforce must be equipped to provide, and the settings in which this care is provided. The so-called “baby boom” generation (people born between 1946 and 1964) is already having an effect on the health care system and it is expected to grow as the century progresses. The number of Americans age 65 and older (35 million in 2000) will rise by more than 19 million to 54 million by 2020. From 2000 to 2050, the number of older adults will increase from 12.5% to 20% of the U.S. population. The New York Center for Health Workforce Studies at the SUNY School of Public Health recently completed a report that assesses the implications of the aging of the population on the supply and demand for a variety of health professionals needed to serve older adults. The report, which was funded by the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis of the Bureau of Health Professions in the federal Health Resources and...