Boomer Primer – That’s what we’re doing here. A list of “Things to Think About,” assuming that you (whoever “you” are) are in your early-to-mid ‘60’s, or rapidly closing in on same, and would like to have some idea of what tomorrow might look like, before it’s tomorrow.
You are not required to do “this” or do “that” or to agree with “this” or agree with “that” – You are required to think about these things, as a part of the whole “aging thing,” then decide whatever you decide to decide, because surprises can easily turn into shocks.
OK, now, a couple of weeks ago I pointed out that, in my experience, there are two subjects that can morph a room full of hyperactive Boomers into a collection of zombies: One is Alzheimer’s disease and the other is Medicare. Today it’s Medicare’s turn, but DON’T PANIC! I have no intention of launching us into a coma-inducing safari through the wilderness of Medicare – Why?
Well, for one thing, a lot of us have already done that. We did it between March 17th and March 31st, in these very columns, right here in the PENINSULA DAILY NEWS, so doing it again now seems to me to border on flagrant sadism. If you need help with this now, call any of the numbers at the end of the column and decent people will help you, for free, and will not try to sell you anything because they don’t have anything to sell.
If you have time on your hands and you just want to begin to understand the Fantasy Land of Medicare, go to medicare.gov and rummage around. Take your time, make notes and you might be surprised at how much you can learn.
The other reason I’m not going to take us there right now is that, to me, starting with “Medicare” is a bit like starting in the middle of a bigger issue, which is rarely helpful, so back up for a minute and think: Medicare is health insurance, the first word of that dreaded phrase being “health.”
In my professional, highly educated and scholarly opinion, health insurance sucks. It doesn’t matter if it’s Medicare, Medicaid, private issue, employer-provided, VA, Tri-Care…Whatever! “Health insurance,” for most of us, most of the time, sucks. We don’t understand it. We don’t understand what it does or doesn’t pay for or when or why – And we sure-as-…Heck don’t understand the stuff it mails to us masquerading as “explanations!” So, back up one more step: How do you “beat” health insurance? Right: Don’t use it.
Oh, sure, most of us will still have to navigate it as a “fall back” – A “worst case scenario,” if you will – But the fact remains that the less you use it, the less it will abuse you, so what do you do? Right! Be healthy!
OK, OK! I get it! The picture that most of us immediately saw in our heads is of some lithe, sinewy, fashionably outfitted yuppie jogging through a lovely park on a lovely day, then going home to a lovely, dressingless salad with lovely yogurt, while petting the lovely, healthy and obedient pet, before launching into a lovely yoga routine. How lovely! How…unlikely.
Agreed – Me, too. Here’s what’s true: Most of us have a pretty good idea of what we “ought to do:” Maybe it’s eat better, maybe it’s eat less, maybe it’s get more exercise, maybe it’s get our medications straight, or maybe it’s even quit-stalling-and-go-to-the-….-doctor! Whatever! We pretty much know. But it’s all too much and it’s all too big and we’ll never look like that yuppie ANYWAY and where would I even start and and and…So, we grab a Ding-Dong, watch a rerun of “I Love Lucy” and give up. Again.
Here’s what we need to do: Something. I’m serious. Forget the yuppie! Do something! Eat one less Ding-Dong today. Walk around the house or the yard or up-and-down the stairs today. Have a salad WITH dressing – Today. Take 10 minutes and figure out the meds TODAY! Just schedule the doctor’s appointment – Today! – Then pat yourself on the back.
Look, almost none of us make huge lifestyle changes on Thursday mornings! We start with one little thing, then congratulate ourselves – I’m serious! – LITTLE things. Did we succeed with that little thing? Cool! Then, try one more – You get it, but they’ve got to be “little things” that we can do (which is probably not jogging to the other side of town) and that we’re willing to do (which is probably NOT replacing tonight’s steak with tofu and sprouts). Little things, one day at a time.
Do something.
OK, now, drop-kick the soapbox into the corner and consider a few other “miscellaneous” points:
- If you currently have health insurance (e.g., you actually have a job that actually provides health insurance), don’t be in a big hurry to have a temper-tantrum and walk out, thinking that you’ll just go buy a health insurance policy. Oh, sure, they’re out there, but they’re PRICEY! – Depending upon how old you are, any pre-existing conditions you might have (those are out there, too) and what your particular, repetitive sins might be, they’re PRICEY! – So look before you…walk;
- The more you understand about what your current health insurance does and doesn’t cover, the better you’ll do; for instance, many policies actually cover the better part (if not all) of some preventative stuff (Remember those “little things” from above?). Think about it;
- Some of you are thinking, “…but Medicare is changing every 20 seconds! Understanding it is hopeless!” Well, yes, it changes a lot; for instance, this year, “open enrollment” for Part D and Advantage Plans is changing to October 15th through December 7th – That’s a BIG change! And others of you are thinking, “…and isn’t ‘health care reform’ (or whatever you choose to call it) going to change a lot of stuff??” Well, yes, depending upon what does-or-doesn’t happen and your circumstances and how old you are and blah blah blah – But it’s WAY too soon to second-guess any of that, so do the best you can to deal with what “is,” and don’t use it as another excuse for another Ding-Dong (“I Love Lucy’s” are good for you);
- In my world, people are more afraid of nursing homes than they are of morgues, which means that what most of us are MOST afraid of is that “gray area” – The space between life-as-we-know-it-and-like-it and death – Disability. Some of those things are beyond our control, like Alzheimer’s, but a lot of them aren’t, like falls or ignored conditions (think diabetes) or general deterioration because we allowed ourselves to…deteriorate.
Is all of this sounding kind of scary? Well, OK, that’s one way to look at it, but here’s another: The whole “aging thing” can actually be kind of fun, if we allow it to be – If we make it be! – And we can do a lot to decide how that game will work – Now! – If we decide to; OR, we can do absolutely nothing and just be surprised!
Sweat the small stuff, and turn on “I Love Lucy.”
No comments:
Post a Comment