Senior Sunrise

One of the reasons that the health care debate in America has taken so long is that there are so many factors to be considered. It would be easy if all people had the same needs and wants when it comes to health care, but that is simply not the case. The biggest disparity comes when you compare health care for young Americans with senior health care.

As the baby boomers begin to reach senior age, the costs of health care is inevitably rising to account for their increased risk and medical expense. In order to subsidize this increased cost, it is important to have young, healthy people paying for insurance as well. However, many of the uninsured—an estimated 44 percent—are young people, many of whom do not see the need for insurance, so part of the solution is getting these people to purchase a policy. This will help diffuse some of the risk of older generations and lower premiums for everyone.

When it comes to preparing for death, there is a litany of facets to consider. Most people remember to make preparations for the funeral, the will and medical assistance, but there is also the mental well-being of the person to account for. When death is imminent, there are dozens of questions and fears that generally pop into people’s minds.

In philosophy, religion, literature and art the phenomenon of death is often explored. However, looking at death in our youth is much different from those who are well aware that they have months or weeks to live. During this time, it is important to be supportive and to work with the person to cope with these inevitable doubts, questions and trepidations.