Hello?! Attention 50 year olds: Get a physical!!!
It seems like every week I sit down with someone, mostly men, who are over 50 years old and they tell me how healthy they are, “Why I haven’t been to the doctor in 20 years! I’m in great shape!” Maybe.
Pretty much every health insurance company insuring individuals requires someone 50 or older to have had a physical with bloodwork done in the last 2 years. No physical? Case closed. Period. No insurance. It’s too much of a risk for the insurance company. Plenty of these so-called healthy folks will drop dead tomorrow! Do you really have to think for more than a minute to come up with the face of a fifty something friend or c0-worker that “seemed to be in good shape”, that collapsed with a heart attack or stroke?
Geez, if you already have insurance, a preventive physical is FREE as a mandate of health care reform. And even if you forget the wise old adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, if you are in the market for health insurance for yourself…you won’t get coverage without a physical!
So suck it up you wimps that fear all doctors. What? You’re TOO BUSY! Heart disease and cancer thrives on people who are just “too busy”. And stop being so self-centered, it’s not all about YOU. I have a hunch some people you know might also have an interest in you getting a physical. So what are you waiting for? Make that appointment!
Will You Live Long Enough To Retire?
The headline is a loaded question. Many ways to answer, but here’s what I’m getting at…
While waiting to have my oil changed I picked up today’s Lancaster newspaper. My wife Lori is a native of Lancaster County and has obviously influenced me…as I felt myself opening up to…no, not sports…no not the local section…but rather to the… obituaries section! All Lori cares about (being Lancastrian to the core) is who died, who got divorced and who had a kid. Period. Debt ceiling? What’s a debt ceiling?
Anyways, it sure seemed like a lot of “young” people in the obits today. Of the 19 listed, 8 were 63 or less. 63? My in-laws are that age. My sisters are already that old. Wait, aren’t we supposed to retire at 65? How can we die before we got to live the good life in retirement? Don’t men live to be 78? And women, 80? Of course those are averages. I am surprised at how many make up the “less than average” group. Now this is a small sample on a given day, however…
Last month I looked at 2 consecutive weeks of the Sunday paper, which reprints the obits for the whole week. 1 in 3 did not make it to age 70. Since that discovery, I mention it to every couple I meet with. I ask, “At what age do you think you will retire? How long do you think you’ll live?” Minus the jokes we all make, the retirement number is mid 60ish, and the life expectancy is 80+ (surprise, nobody thinks they are average!)
Statistically, 1 of the 3 of us at the customer’s dining room table will not make it to 70. Not a happy thought. This brings me around to life insurance again. That measly $26/mo. policy I just wrote for a quarter milliondollars for 30 years on a 31 year old guy, might just get paid out. I hope not! But…
So what age do you think you’ll be when YOU retire? Here’s hoping you make it! And here’s hoping you’re insured even beyond that.
What Does it Mean to “Self-Insure”
There are many reasons why you might have to “self-insure”. Maybe you quit your job, got laid off, your company doesn’t offer insurance, your self-employed, an independent contractor or commissioned sales person. Perhaps it’s too expensive to be added on to your spouse’s plan. Whatever the reason, you’re on your own, but not alone. I may be able to help you get benefits.