U.S. Needs Better System To Care For People With Disabilities, Report States

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U.S. Needs Better System To Care For People With Disabilities,

Report States

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=68963

In light of the expanding elderly population in the U.S., a better

system is needed to provide care for the disabled, according to a

report released Tuesday by the Institute of Medicine, AP/Long Island

Newsday reports. The report estimates that more than 40 million U.S.

residents are disabled in some way. Aging baby boomers are likely to

increase the country's disabled population. The report also predicts

that younger generations will contribute to the disabled population

because of declines in physical activity and increases in obesity

and diabetes. The report recommends that Congress and federal

agencies:

• Increase funding for research into clinical health services

and disability problems, including social and behavioral;

• Strengthen the Americans with Disabilities Act to ensure

accessibility at health care facilities for the disabled;

• Eliminate the two-year waiting period for Medicare

eligibility for Social Security Disability Insurance beneficiaries;

• Modify the " in-home-use " requirement for Medicare coverage

of durable medical equipment to allow reimbursement for equipment

that can be used both inside and outside the home;

• Increase educational programs for health professionals that

care for the disabled; and

• Develop a system through the National Center for Health

Statistics, Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics to monitor

the number and types of disabled U.S. residents.

The study concludes that action " taken sooner rather than later "

is " essential for the nation to avoid a future of harm and inequity

and, instead, to improve the lives of people with disabilities. "

Alan Jette, chair of the committee that prepared the report and

director of the Health and Disability Research Institute at the

Boston University School of Public Health, said, " If one considers

people who now are disabled, those likely to develop a future

disability and people who are or will be affected by the

disabilities of family members or others close to them, it becomes

clear that disability will eventually affect the lives of most " U.S.

residents.

Jette added that " over the past two decades, far too little progress

has been made in adopting major public policy and practice advances

to reduce disability in America " (Schmid, AP/Long Island Newsday,

4/24.