Regardless of how the Supreme Court rules on health care reform , the justices have one thing in common , and one thing in common with a growing cohort of Americans : They are aging . America faces an unprecedented wave of aging as members of the iconic baby boomer generation turn 65 . This year alone , 4 million Americans will join the growing ranks of senior citizens . The Affordable Care Act strengthened the Medicare system that this growing senior population relies on . Health care reform reduces the cost of prescription drugs , brings down costs for patients using private Medicare supplements and increases access to free preventative services . The Affordable Care Act makes health care more affordable for senior citizens and ensures that doctors are compensated fairly for their services . While Medicare certainly needs adjusting , if the law is overturned , the challenges of Medicare financing will only get worse . For the millions of senior citizens and about-to-be seniors in America the improvements brought by health care reform are just an important first step . We must protect the progress made by the Affordable Care Act , but much more is needed to support our rapidly growing older adult population to help them live independently , at home and in our communities with dignity . A vital home care work force has developed to meet these needs , and its interests are inextricably bound to the future of health care . The average hourly wage of a home care worker in the United States is less than $ 10 per hour . Poverty wages and a lack of benefits , training and career pathways mean turnover is constant . The work force can barely meet the current need for care , supports and services , let alone what 's to come . More families are turning to immigrant women of color to provide care for their loved ones . These women work tirelessly to feed and bathe our nation 's senior citizens , serve as a go-between with family and doctors , count medication , even take care of pets , and yet they are denied basic wages , let alone benefits , worker protections and pathways to citizenship . In fact , one out of two direct care workers supplements his or her income with food stamps , Medicaid or public benefits , compounding our overall challenge . News explainer : Health care 's big four issues : What the justices are tackling . We need to create more jobs in America , address the need for home care , and improve the quality of care jobs all at the same time . In so doing , we can create precisely the type of economic growth we need in this moment . These are issues that concern us all including , ultimately , Supreme Court justices . Of course , the Supreme Court justices have lifetime appointments that include access to the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program , one of the largest insurance pools in the country , which ensures the jurists are n't subject to the sorts of limits for pre-existing conditions and inflated premiums that most insured Americans have long faced . And if they choose to leave the bench , the justices can opt to keep their coverage -- meaning they wo n't have to rely on Medicare to nearly the extent most elder Americans do . News : Timeline of the health care law . But someday , they may want an in-home care worker to help them through the challenges of aging . The Affordable Care Act was a great leap forward in improving a health care system that is n't working well for senior citizens , workers or any of us . With our senior population growing by the second , or every eight seconds to be exact , we need to move forward quickly toward more improvements , not roll back the ones we 've made . According to polls , the American people know that the Supreme Court wo n't rule based on the Constitution alone . Politics clearly influence such decisions . But if the justices would just think of themselves as senior citizens and soon-to-be-seniors , they would uphold the Affordable Care Act for the sake of older Americans , care workers and our shared future . CNN iReport : The real people behind health care reform .
Ai-jen Poo : Like the rest of us , Supreme Court justices are aging , will need good health care . She says Affordable Care Act improves availability , costs of care for senior citizens . She says home care workers a growing need as boomers age , but wages and protections lag . Writer : I'm not sure what she means by " affordable care " or how it would be paid for?