Introduction 1 G. Burtless, Trends in the Well-Being of the Aged and Their Prospects through 2030, Brookings Institution Report, June 2015, available from: -2030-paper-series/060215BurtlessWell BeingSeniors.pdf?la=en; U.S. Senate, Commission on Long-Term Care, Report to Congress, September 2013, available from: -LTCCOMMISSION/pdf/GPO-LTCCOMMISSION.pdf. Addressing the Health Needs of an Aging America | 8 The Challenges of Caring for an Aging America What policy solutions have been advanced to address the challenges of reducing healthcare costs and improving health outcomes in the elderly population, and are these solutions supported by rigorous scientific evidence? Over the last year, a multidisciplinary team at the Stern Center for Evidence-Based Policy conducted an unprecedented study that answers these questions. Researchers systematically analyzed scientific evidence related to the cost and quality of care for the aging population from across the entire domain of published biomedical literature, as well as health policy recommendations from a sampled set of stakeholder organizations (advocacy, membership, and trade organizations) in the United States. The results of this study provide policymakers with essential insights into the current state of evidence-based health policy in the United States. The findings will thus drive the future work of the Stern Center in this politically, economically, and socially critical area of health policy research. Meeting the health needs of an aging America requires sizable changes to our existing approach to treatment and service delivery. Unless policymakers take action now, aging Americans and their loved ones will soon experience unsustainably high costs for healthcare coverage as well as significant declines in the access to and quality of care. Care needs among the U.S. aging population are changing rapidly. An aging America will experience increasingly severe and complex health conditions. Almost half of the U.S. population is expected to have at least one chronic disease by 2020. By 2030, over 40 percent of the 65+ population is likely to have diabetes; nearly 80 percent will experience hypertension. The number of aging individuals with three or more chronic conditions has also increased significantly within the last ten years, and this is expected to grow to 40 percent among the 65 and over population by 2030. Complicating the task of treating multiple chronic conditions is the rising prevalence of age-related functional impairments. This will dramatically expand the number of individuals requiring assistance to perform daily activities to maintain quality of life and independence. By 2050, the number of Americans needing long-term services and supports (LTSS) will more than double to 27 million.2 The fragmented U.S. healthcare system is ill-suited to address an expanding aging population’s complex needs. While multiple chronic conditions can be effectively managed through coordinated approaches to treatment, providers rarely coordinate with one another and often lack appropriate incentives for improving the overall health of the patient. This places individuals with multiple chronic conditions at a significantly higher risk for adverse drug reactions and preventable hospitalizations. Fragmented service delivery also makes it more difficult for aging individuals to navigate their Focus Area: Interprofessional Teams A diverse range of interprofessional care models bring multiple specialists together to provide services, manage patient health, and share accountability for patient outcomes. Systematic reviews of the interdisciplinary Acute Care for Elders (ACE) model have shown significant reduction in functional decline, hospital stay, nursing-home discharges, and costs. Outside unit-based interventions, models in which guided-care nurses work in partnership with patients’ primary care physicians have also been effective at reducing episodes of home healthcare. Remote physician-pharmacist team-based care has also proven effective at improving cholesterol levels in diabetes patients. Workforce reforms that support such interdisciplinary approaches to care show are especially promising for improving specific