Baby Boomers are at it again
dailyhome.com | May 23rd 2011
Baby boomers have been
blamed for lots of society’s problems. After all, the generation born between
1946 and 1964 ushered in the decade of the Sixties, with protests against a war
and for civil rights, and it seems that group has been blamed or credited for
every trend in today’s world.
Worried about Medicare? Social Security? Well, the leading edge of the Baby
Boomers is about ready to start lining up for those federal benefits, as they
will turn 65 this year, to be followed by wave after wave of their brothers and
sisters in coming years.
Baby Boomers have contributed two presidents—Bill Clinton and George Bush—who
represented both ends of the political spectrum and neatly summed up the two
faces of their generation.
Even music is part of the Boomers’ heritage. It has been said that Oldies Radio
didn’t exist until the Boomers age caught up with them and they were no longer
setting the pace for musical taste. Unwilling to adopt new music, and so
self-centered they couldn’t bear the thought of not hearing the Beatles or the
Stones or the Eagles—they promptly rallied behind the stations that played
“their music” and they remain a powerful audience today. Which kind of brings
us to the point of all this:
As the Boomers age, their hips and knees and shoulders are wearing out. And
instead of cutting back on physical activity, or getting a cane or a wheel
chair—this generation is demanding that medical science replace their aging
joints so they can continue to run or walk or play basketball and tennis or
whatever they want.
It’s akin to the music demand in that Boomers allegedly don’t care about
whether the rest of the world likes it or not, or whether it is medically
necessary or cost-effective. It’s available and they want it.
The numbers bear this out.
Knee replacement surgeries have doubled over the last decade and more than
tripled in the 45-64 age groups, according to an Associated Press story. That’s
the boomer generation, getting older but not liking it and doing something
about it.
It’s “boomeritis or fix-me-it is,” says Dr. Nicholas Dubile, a Philadelphia
surgeon.
“It’s this mindset of “fix me at any cost, turn back the clock. The boomers are
the first generation trying to stay active in droves on an aging frame,” he
said.
There is a sense that all this is self-centered and somehow bad. But we don’t
necessarily agree with that. Joint replacements have helped millions of people
lead better lives, and apparently surgeons have no problems offering and
performing the procedures.
As with all relatively new medical procedures, there are questions. How long
will these replacements last? And how well will they perform with the
activities planned by the boomers.
Some doctors say those kinds of questions lead them to try to talk patients
under 50 out of replacement surgeries. But some Boomers don’t want to wait.
One told his doctor he wasn’t worried about how his new knee would work at 75,
he wanted it fixed now when he is 55 so he can continue with the active
lifestyle he now enjoys.
Is there an answer to all this? Or is there even a problem here? There are
plenty of replacement knees and hips around. And there are plenty of doctors
who are willing to perform the surgeries.
All this surgery does cost money. And insurance companies and Medicare will pay
for most of it. But all this surgery will also create jobs—from those who
manufacture the joints, to those who sell them, to those who work in the
hospitals where the knees are fixed and on and on.
Just like Oldies Radio, it seems the Boomers have defined a market and demanded
it be served.
Original Page:
http://www.dailyhome.com/view/full_story/13379504/article-Baby-Boomers-are-at-it-again?instance=home_opinion_bullet%3E
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