Effects of Teenage Pregnancy, AIDS, and Care for the Elderly on the Cost of Medicaid and Medicare
A 16 page paper discussing teen pregnancy; AIDS research and treatment; and care for the elderly, and how increased attention to these areas has affected total costs of the government’s primary health care initiatives. Medicare is still out of control but under intense scrutiny; AIDS research has progressed so well that mortality from the disease has been reduced 70%. Teen pregnancy also has declined, but access to Medicaid still is problematic. Lack of first trimester prenatal care keeps infant mortality rates high, and the physical and learning problems that these children can have as a result of lack of mother’s prenatal care provides ongoing expense that would not be as great were access to Medicaid more open. The paper concludes that it is teen pregnancy that is the weakest of the three areas in terms of making positive contribution to public health management. Bibliography lists 14 sources.
