Boomers: Are You Ready for a Scary Future?
Posted: Wednesday, December 08, 2010
by Barbara Morris
http://www.PutOldonHold.com
Are You Ready For This?
If you are retired or a boomer thinking about retirement and you don't have a boatload of money and a dependable caretaker waiting in the wings to take care of you if you need help in your old age, here are some things to think about now that may seem unrelated:
• Insurance company Met Life announced it will stop selling long term care policies.
• Physicians continue to complain about projected cuts in Medicare reimbursements and threaten to stop taking Medicare patients, and/or find another way to make a living. If doctors leave medicine, who or what will take their place? Physician assistants or a new class of health workers, probably. As competent as physician assistants are, they are not trained physicians. You can see it coming: when you make an appointment to see your doctor now, how often do you see a physician assistant instead?
• On a recent ABC program, "This Week with Christiane Amanpour", New York Times columnist Paul Krugman commented on impending increased health care costs and said the following:
Who was it that claimed "death panels" were a feature in the new health care legislation passed by Congress, and was roundly criticized for saying it? Nobody knew (and we still don't know for sure) what is in the law because it was rammed through so fast there was no time to read, let alone study the measure. However, it is reassuring that Congresswoman Pelosi, with a devilishly beguiling smile, said not to worry; we can discover what's in the bill after it passes.
Paul Krugman's advocacy of death panels is scary and dangerous because our society doesn't much care for old people. They are often considered cranky, demanding, expensive and generally in the way, and it doesn't look like this perception will change for the better any time soon, especially with "death panels" now sanctioned by a New York Times writer . Just a scant few years ago, anyone daring to suggest "death panels" for the elderly would have been maligned, disgraced and labeled a Nazi. Where is the outrage?
It's going to get tougher for retirees because their window of opportunity to prepare for the future is largely gone. But boomers still have a chance to at least try to do what they can to NOT need the "new and improved" health care system.
So again, if you are a boomer, or already retired, what can you do to help yourself deal with the looming health care debacle? Here are a couple of very basic but critically important suggestions.
1. One of the worst aspects of getting old is an insidious, never-saw-it-coming loss of mobility and flexibility which is not always the result of arthritis or other joint disease. When you can't move around freely you are dependent. That means it is crucial to have an on-going exercise regimen that keeps you strong and flexible. Whatever exercise you choose to do just do it every day. "Continuity" over a long period of time is the magic key to help you rock n roll while your peers are in wheel chairs. The payoff is not just having personal freedom, but also, being able to be of service to others if need be.
If you wait until age 65 to start an exercise regimen your chances of experiencing premature physical decline increase astronomically. The aging body resists change. And don't forget to regularly exercise your mind. Make it work overtime with problem solving chores. It's every bit as important as exercise for the rest of your body. When you don't keep your mind challenged it can result in never-saw-it-coming cognitive decline.
2. Eat more nutritious food. But that's not enough. If you are not taking at least a daily dietary supplement you are cheating yourself. I don't care how "good" you eat, not one of us eats a "good enough" diet. Even if you totally avoid processed food and have access to wholesome organic food, it's less than adequate to support top notch health.
If you doubt the value of nutritional supplements, download this:
http://www.PutOldonHold.com/lewin.pdf
It is the link to an eye-opening study:
NEW STUDY FINDS INCREASED MULTIVITAMIN USE
BY THE ELDERLY COULD SAVE MEDICARE $1.6 BILLION
Lewin Group Report First Ever to Quantify Preventative Health Benefits
Of Multivitamin Supplementation Using Health Insurance Model
"WASHINGTON, Oct. 2, 2003 The results of a new study released today show that the daily use of a multivitamin by older adults could lead to more than $1.6 billion in Medicare savings over the next five years."
The Lewin study is an unbiased mind blower. Why didn't the government get behind the recommendations in the study five years ago? Had it done so, today there might be fewer seniors hobbling around on walkers or incarcerated in nursing homes.
It is ironic that San Francisco has no qualms about ordering McDonald's to stop offering Happy Meals; the federal government has no qualms about telling schools what can and cannot be served or made available to kids for lunch. But it fails to support a simple recommendation that could result in better health for older individuals and save a lot of taxpayer money in the bargain.
The bottom line is this: You have to look out for Number One -- that's you and your family. Discounting Divine Intervention, the government is going to do what it is going to do and you had better prepare to do what you know you need to do to have a fighting chance to stay as healthy as you can as you continue to age. It's not an impossible feat but it does take effort and determination. And if in spite of your best efforts, the nasty side of your genetic heritage attacks your mind or body and takes you down, chances are that whatever hits you, you will be better able to cope with it.
It's smart to take care of yourself to the best of your ability, particularly as you approach your older years. It is especially wise to take care of yourself if the world's best health care system deteriorates into the equivalent of a third world nightmare.
Prepare for your future. That's what winners, survivors and over-comers do. Become one starting now.
Barbara Morris is a pharmacist and anti-aging activist. Visit her sites: http://www.Putoldonhold.com and http://www.NoMoreLittleoldLadies.com
and http://www.DontWannaBeMyMother.com Sign up for free newsletter and receive great free goodies.
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