The World in 2030

The World in 2030 301
Paying for our Healthcare
But before I get ahead of myself in this survey of medical
wonders yet to come (plastic or otherwise), it is necessary
to understand that we face an extremely difficult future
for healthcare services in the developed world. I promised
earlier that I would not commit the solecism of taking
a Panglossian view of the future and for that reason it is
necessary to point out that the ‘Baby Boomer’ generation
in North America, Europe, and some parts of Asia will soon
start to retire and, inevitably, will eventually fall victim to
the maladies of old age (relatively few will have early access
to rejuvenation treatments). This is the largest group of
people in the population demographic and they are going
to start making heavy demands on health services just as
their generation is becoming economically unproductive
(and therefore able to contribute less in taxes to fund the
health services). How good or bad healthcare services will
be in caring for these millions of old people depends on
political decisions and national cultures as much as a nation’s
economic performance. As is revealed below, future energy
security is not the only sector in which the United States has
got itself into a mess.
In his 2007 book, ‘Future, Inc,’ Washington D.C.-based
futurist Eric Garland 528 wrote of the American healthcare
system:
The most important thing driving the future of
health care is something you probably do not need
to be told – it is phenomenally costly. The United