Given that such a large percentage of the medical spending in the United States goes towards end-of-life care, it seems odd that it would be hard to find doctors interested in geriatric care.

But a report by NPR suggests that, just as Medicare funding will soon not be great enough to care for the country's burgeoning retired population, there are not nearly enough medical school grads going into elder care.

The radio station put the spotlight on West Virginia, home to one of America's poorest and oldest populations. Nearly a quarter of the state's 1.8 million residents are over 60, but there are only 36 doctors that specialize in elderly care.

Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to BenefitsPRO, part of your ALM digital membership.

  • Critical BenefitsPRO information including cutting edge post-reform success strategies, access to educational webcasts and videos, resources from industry leaders, and informative Newsletters.
  • Exclusive discounts on ALM, BenefitsPRO magazine and BenefitsPRO.com events
  • Access to other award-winning ALM websites including ThinkAdvisor.com and Law.com
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.