Adults in the U.S. are more worried than ever about whether Medicare and Social Security benefits will be available when they need them.

In response to a Gallup poll released in June, 75% of adults age 65 and younger said they are “worried” or “extremely worried” about lack of Medicare availability, according to a press release.

When it comes to Social Security benefits, 80% of survey respondents said the same.

HEALTH CARE IS ‘OVERWHELMINGLY COMPLEX’ FOR OLDER ADULTS, EXPERTS SAY: ‘EVER-INCREASING HURDLE’

Both of those percentages have increased since the last poll in 2022.

The data came from the West Health-Gallup 2024 Survey on Aging in America, which polled 5,149 adults 18 and older between November 2023 and January 2024.

The older the respondents, the more likely they were to consider Social Security and Medicare important — 87% of adults 65 or older said they were the “highest priority” programs, twice as many compared to those between 18 and 29 years of age, according to the results.

The poll also found that more than half of Americans are “somewhat more likely” or “much more likely” to make voting decisions based on their support of programs that affect older adults — and among adults 65 and older, that figure rises to 77%.

“The overwhelming majority of people do not think the U.S. is doing enough to address the needs of its growing aging population.”

Timothy Lash, president of West Health, a California nonprofit focused on health care and aging that partnered with Gallup to conduct the poll, said the findings showed the “magnitude of concern” people have about aging.

“High and rising concerns over the future viability of Medicare and Social Security and the high cost of health care dominate people’s thinking on aging,” Lash told Fox News Digital via email. 

The older the respondents, the more likely they were to consider Social Security and Medicare important, the poll found. (iStock)

“The overwhelming majority of people do not think the U.S. is doing enough to address the needs of its growing aging population.”

By 2034, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that adults 65 and older will outnumber children under 18 for the first time, he noted.

What can people do?

Those who are concerned should communicate with their policymakers and elected officials, Lash advised.

“A whopping two-thirds of Americans feel the country is not prepared to address the overall needs of its rapidly growing older population, and these concerns may influence who they vote for in upcoming elections,” he said.

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Among increasing concerns over health care affordability and the future of Medicare and Social Security, Lash said, “Americans need to look at who is going to rein in the high cost of health care and protect and strengthen safety net programs for future seniors.” 

As the aging population continues to grow, Lash emphasized the importance of addressing their needs and challenges.

“It’s up to all of us to work to reduce the concerns over aging and raise the promise and hope of growing older in America,” he added.

As the aging population continues to grow, an expert emphasized the importance of addressing its needs and challenges. (iStock)

Whitney Stidom, vice president of Medicare Operations at eHealth in Salt Lake City, said she was not surprised by the Gallup poll’s findings.

“As we enter the last few months of the election [season], candidates from both parties should be clear that it’s not only seniors who care about the future of Medicare — younger people care, too,” Stidom told Fox News Digital via email.

“It’s up to all of us to work to reduce the concerns over aging and raise the promise and hope of growing older in America.”

In a March survey by eHealth, 78% of millennials and Gen Xers identified Medicare as a “top-three” voting issue, and 84% said they were willing to contribute more in payroll taxes to ensure its future, according to Stidom.

“We are anticipating unprecedented volatility in the Medicare Advantage marketplace due to continued financial pressures within the entire health care industry, regulatory changes, and the inevitable sticker shock that consumers will see when their plan notices of change arrive in the mail come September’s annual enrollment period,” she said.

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To help avoid cost increases or loss of certain benefits in 2025, Stidom encourages seniors to review their Plan Notice of Change letters carefully as soon as they arrive — and to go over their options with a trusted, licensed adviser.

“Medicare provides a crucial lifeline for over 65 million Americans who depend on this vital program for their health care needs,” the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services told Fox News Digital in a statement. (Getty Images)

“Don’t wait until the last minute to make selections for next year,” she added.

For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews/health

When contacted by Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) provided the following statement.

“Medicare provides a crucial lifeline for over 65 million Americans who depend on this vital program for their health care needs. The Biden-Harris Administration has taken many actions to strengthen Medicare while improving its sustainability, and has proposed enhancements that would extend its solvency while strengthening benefits. CMS is committed to protecting Medicare now and for future generations.”

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• The CDC’s Principal Deputy Director and other health experts highlighted the importance of wearing protective gear when culling poultry birds infected with avian influenza, or the bird flu virus.
• The CDC said a lack of protective equipment during the disposal of chickens on a Colorado egg farm likely contributed to five bird flu cases among workers, though so far no human or livestock cases have been linked directly to disposal of animals with avian flu.
• Most of the culled birds are composted or buried, but some are taken to landfills.

The spread of bird flu among poultry and dairy farms has heightened some health experts’ concerns that the process of killing and disposing of poultry infected with the virus may pose a risk to humans and livestock.

Recent instances of farms dumping carcasses in landfills and using methods to kill chickens that put workers in close proximity to the virus show how the process of getting rid of infected birds could further spread the disease, according to data obtained by Reuters and interviews with officials and disease experts.

Extreme heat that made it difficult to keep protective equipment on during the asphyxiation by carbon dioxide of chickens on a Colorado egg farm likely contributed to five bird flu cases among workers, the largest cluster of human cases in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention said this week.

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The situation highlights the need for systematic use of protective gear when killing the sick animals, said the CDC’s Principal Deputy Director Nirav Shah on a Tuesday call with reporters about the outbreak.

Workers killing chickens risk inhaling the virus, said Dr. Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert at the University of Minnesota, of the process. The workers had mild symptoms including pink eye and respiratory issues.

“Depopulation activities need to clearly focus on protection for these individuals,” he said.

So far, there have been no human or livestock cases linked directly to disposal of animals with avian flu.

COLORADO’S BIRD FLU CASE

Bird flu has migrated to nearly every U.S. state over the past 2.5 years. There have been nine cases among poultry and dairy workers since March, including the Colorado poultry workers.

Further bird flu spread among livestock could increase the likelihood of human infections, though the risk to the general public is still low, officials from the CDC have said.

About 95 million chickens, turkeys, and other poultry have been killed and disposed of since February 2022, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data obtained by Reuters showing culling and disposal methods through late June.

Bird flu is fatal in birds and the government requires entire flocks to be culled once the virus is on a farm. The deadliest year was 2022, but nearly as many chickens have been disposed of so far in 2024 as in all of 2023, the data shows.

The sick workers in Colorado, for instance, were killing the birds with mobile gas chamber carts, said Julie Gauthier, an official at USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, on the Tuesday call.

The carts can typically accommodate between a dozen and 50 birds and workers asphyxiate them batch by batch, Gauthier said. A USDA spokesperson said the agency had reviewed the farm’s use of the method as part of its response to the outbreak.

More than 150 of the workers were exposed to infected poultry, 69 displayed symptoms and were tested, and five were positive, said AnneMarie Harper, communications director at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

Most chickens are killed by asphyxiation either with portable chambers like those used in Colorado, or by spraying a firefighting foam on the birds or shutting down ventilation to the chicken barns, the USDA data shows.

A small number are killed with firearms, by cervical dislocation, or other means.

DISPOSING OF ANIMALS INFECTED WITH BIRD FLU

Most of the culled birds are composted, either in chicken houses or on farms, or buried, according to the USDA data. To compost the birds, farmers cover them in material like wood shavings, maintain the compost piles at a high temperature, and stir them occasionally with farm equipment in a process that typically takes several weeks.

Federal and state officials work with farmers to determine the best disposal methods, said John Clifford, a former USDA chief veterinarian, now an advisor for the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council, an industry group.

It is safest to compost on site to avoid moving the carcasses and potentially spreading the virus, said Myah Walker, compliance unit supervisor at the Minnesota Board of Animal Health.

In rarer cases, carcasses are transported to landfills, a process that can meet some federal and state regulations.

Michigan egg producer Herbruck’s Poultry Ranch disposed of nearly 2 million chickens between April 15 and June 8 in private landfills, according to USDA data and Michigan state records of the disposal process obtained by Reuters.

Herbruck’s declined to comment.

Just 3% of all poultry have been disposed of in landfills since 2022, and the Herbruck’s outbreak accounts for about two-thirds of them, the USDA data shows.

Soon after the Herbruck’s disposal, a dairy farm near one of the landfills tested positive for bird flu, alarming area farmers. Even so, whole genome sequencing showed the disposed Herbruck’s carcasses did not cause the infection, said Adeline Hambley, Ottawa County’s health officer.

Wild birds have helped spread the virus between poultry farms and to other species.

Brian Hoefs, the state veterinarian for Minnesota, said he would not recommend disposing of dead poultry in landfills.

“That’s the restaurant for scavengers. It would be a recipe for disaster,” he said.