The Washington Times on Friday in the last installment of a five-part series on baby boomers examined how the "burgeoning senior population" will "shock" the U.S. health care system in future years. The senior population is expected to double from 35 million to 70 million over the next 20 years, in part because the health of seniors older than 65 has been improving since the 1980s. While "some financial savings could be realized if the trend" of improving senior health continues, costly new medical technologies could offset those savings and "greatly increase Medicare costs," according to RAND, the Times reports. In addition, the National Institute on Aging and the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging predict that elder care will shift from nursing homes toward more support-based services and technology that allow in-home monitoring of medical conditions. As a result, changes to Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement schedules will be needed to pay for such services, according to Russell Bodoff, executive director of the Center for Aging Services Technologies (Howard Price, Washington Times, 12/30/05).