How do Americans decide how much to invest in the nation’s youth or seniors?
Prioritizing distribution of resources for children — a segment that is becoming a smaller proportion of the total population than the growing 65 and older group— is an increasingly important issue, says Gary Freed, the Percy and Mary Murphy Professor of Pediatrics in the School of Medicine and director of the Child Health Evaluation and Research (CHEAR) Unit.
“It’s not an all-or-nothing proposition,” Freed says. “It’s a question of how much of our limited resources do we put into each population?”
Freed will discuss this topic during the Fedele F. and Iris M. Fauri Memorial Lecture at 3 p.m. Oct. 27 at the School of Social Work. His lecture, “The Impact of the ‘Aging of America’ on Children,” is free and open to the public.
Changes in demographics affect the financing of public programs and private markets for health, education and social services. Freed says the generational dilemma over the allocation of resources is a silent battle that likely stacks the deck against children.
“The future of our country will be affected negatively if changes are not made that secure continued public and … private investment for children’s health,” says Freed, who has more than 18 years of experience in children’s health services research.
The gap is widening between the generations and the programs that provide support to vulnerable populations. For example, most Americans do not realize that more Medicaid funding goes to the elderly than to children.
Freed points to these differences in a report by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. In fiscal year 2000, $35.2 billion of Medicaid program resources were dedicated to children compared with $50 billion for people older than 65.
“If the increases in spending for adults come at the absolute or proportional expense of children, I believe that the price is too high,” says Freed, a professor of health management and policy in the School of Public Health. “We must develop mechanisms that encourage private investment in improving the health of children while ensuring continued public support.”
Many programs are proportionally based on the population. When state or federal budget pressures occur, children’s programs are often cut first because seniors are a large vocal segment who can use their influence at voting booths when their benefits and services are at risk of being eliminated, he says.
The annual lecture recognizes former Vice President for State Relations and Planning and School of Social Work Dean Fedele Fauri and his wife. His leadership and accomplishments in the field of child welfare spanned nearly 50 years.
