After completing this chapter. the student will be able to:

1. Describe how old age is typically associated with poor health, and explain how recent improvements in health care are changing that association.
2. Identify how people’s lifestyles and social support systems affect their health in old age.
3. Describe the best measure of an elderly person’s socioeconomic status, and explain how SES is connected to a person’s health.
4. Explain how gender, race, and ethnicity affect an older person’s health.
5. Describe how changes in Medicare and the health care industry affected older Americans.