Health: Plan for The Worse, Live For The Best

Here is what I know - At 59 I’m healthier than either of my parents were at age 59.  I have never smoked. I’m fairly active and exercise some but not overly. I eat fairly well, but not always.  I drink socially but not in excess.  So what are my odds of remaining healthy and being able to care for myself?  Better, I’m sure than my parents but the fact remains that the odds of something happening to me beyond my control still exists. Any number of accidents could befall me. What then?

We Boomers don't like to think or talk much about aging. For us, and many in our generation, the idea of needing long term care is down the road a ways.

We avoid discussing these issues for several reasons; most notably as discussed above is that of denial. Secondly, I think that we have come to expect that the government will take care of us through Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare. Unfortunately, we ignore the fact that these programs are not fail safe measures of obtaining care especially if we want to remain in our homes.  Yes, it is likely some form of government benefits will be there but statistics and finances will make it more difficult for us to receive these benefits.

It’s important to consider the facts; none of us know what the future will bring; it takes longer to heal; many people are on prescription medication; our joints are not as flexible; dementia; diabetes; Alzheimer’s, are all possibilities. Be aware that the, “I’ll take care of it tomorrow” can quickly become today’s caregiving nightmare.

I’m with you though…just trying to survive the speed of everyday life, bad habits, ‘aging’ denial and all other serious matters makes it near to impossible and indeed, very difficult to think about anything other than what ‘IS’ at this moment.

This is not a doom and gloom message but rather a pro-active request to think ahead. Being pro-active about aging is a hard sell to Boomers because clearly not all of us feel we will ever be frail or dependent on others. We ignore the ‘what if’ rule. Just because it’s a ‘numbers game’ doesn’t mean we don’t have a "responsibility to own the solution", especially if we get caught in the ‘dependent’ category.

When I speak with my own children (28 and 30). I ask them what happens if you become sick or injured and cannot work for an extended period of time? Look, there is no getting around the fact that people (young and old, old and older, older and oldest) get cancer; break bones; have strokes; fall off ladders; get into car accidents; and have operations. It may not be inevitable but it does happen... My kids could need long term care...obviously then, I could too.  So, why do most people think of ‘Long Term Care Solutions’ as an ‘old’ person’s problem?  As far as I’m concerned we shouldn’t.  In fact if we decided long term care was an answer to a segment of life, call it ‘living protection’ more of us might see fit to at least devise a plan.

See what I’m saying is I believe we are in total agreement that the need for care can happen at any age. So why don’t we prepare…I think it’s because we see ourselves as functionally independent and mostly healthy.  I personally know men and women in their mid 80's that still play tennis and basketball, ride horses and ski, yet, I also have friends (much younger) who couldn’t keep up with them.  So, let’s take age out of the equation and simply focus on what the outcome to our families and us would be if we do not prepare for the worse case scenario.

We wouldn’t think of not protecting our ‘valuables’, i.e., homes; our vehicles; our health; our lives; our incomes, hence shouldn't we think about covering our most valuable asset, ourselves, for the possibility of future ‘health care needs’?

Yes, it’s a probability. Maybe we’ll need it, maybe not. Consider your family’s health history and longevity…have you assets to protect…do you want your family to experience a financial melt-down of your assets if you need care-giver services…(young and old, old and older, older and oldest)

As a concerned ‘health advocate’ I have begun bringing up this subject with friends.  It may be too late for the person now in need, but younger family members can certainly take measures to ensure their ‘care’ needs for the future.

I think that as a professional working with and for seniors (and their extended families), it is my responsibility to bring up this subject at every opportunity in order to ensure that younger generations will not face the stress Boomers and their parents are.

Most of us don't believe that ‘illness’ is ever going to happen to us or we are just hoping against hope that it doesn’t. Yet, 2 out of 3 people need some level of assistive care at some point after age 65…and more so after age 85.  All of us want to believe we are going to be the 1 out of 3 and therefore we do little, if any, advanced planning around issues pertaining to long term care, insurance, legal, financial, estate, family, etc.

Many say cost is a major issue and insurance for ‘care’ may be considered a luxury, especially in today’s economy…but don’t drop the ball here… educate yourself…ask questions…start thinking about the ‘what ifs’…plan for dependence and if you don’t ever need ‘supportive care’ great!   Prepare for the worst with a plan for the "what ifs", then forget about it and spend the rest of your time living a healthy lifestyle.