Final answer:
The growth of the elderly population challenges the sustainability of social-health policies like Social Security and Medicare, necessitating policy options such as adjusting taxes or benefits. Health trends encourage better lifestyles, and the opioid crisis has catalyzed policy changes towards treatment-based approaches. Children from low-income families are covered by Medicaid for healthcare needs.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question concerns a current social-health policy affecting elders. The significant increase in the elderly population in the United States poses challenges for two major federal programs: Social Security and Medicare. Social Security provides a source of income for retirees, while Medicare offers health insurance to those over age 65. As the number of elderly Americans grows, the expenditures for these programs will increase, leading to greater demands on the payroll tax, which may not suffice to cover all expected costs.
To address these challenges, policymakers consider a variety of options, such as increasing the payroll tax rate, raising the retirement age for eligibility, adjusting benefits, or reallocating funds from other budget areas. Additional health-focused trends include promoting exercise and nutrition and reducing the risks of behaviors that can lead to health problems, such as smoking and substance abuse.
Furthermore, the opioid crisis has led to shifts in policy, focusing on treatment rather than criminalization, paralleling the broader approach to substance use disorders. For children, policies cover areas like Medicaid which provides health coverage to low-income families, including children.