Insurance Companies Killing Off Baby Boomers

During a recent visit with my cardiologist, she recommended I have an echocardiogram to see how my heart is functioning.

For those of you who aren't aware, I have been living with congestive heart failure since 1999. Although I believe my health has improved with a change in diet, medication and exercise, an echocardiogram is necessary to make sure. An echocardiogram uses sound waves to produce images of your heart. This commonly used test allows your doctor to see how your heart is beating and pumping blood. Your doctor can use the images from an echocardiogram to identify various abnormalities in the heart muscle and valves.

Now one would think an insurance company would be delighted to have a patient undergo such a test because good results can mean LESS DEPENDENCE on the company. But NOOOOOOOOOOOOO---my insurance company, Anthem, has denied the test. First, they said it was denied because the request did not come from my primary care physician, which makes no sense to me since she does not treat me for heart disease. But then, after my primary doctor sent over my medical records, I was denied again because the company said I was the one who had to give permission for any records to be released.

I think I can understand the need for the insurance company to see my medical records to make sure they're not being ripped off by paying thousands of dollars for an unnecessary test but requiring my signature to have them released is RIDICULOUS. Call me on the phone and ask my permission. Instead, they sent some paperwork for me to complete to give them a medical history---which is making me duplicate a job already done by both of my doctors.

I'm of the opinion that Anthem Insurance doesn't give a damn about whether I get better or not, which doesn't make any sense because the longer I go without that echocardiogram means I will be sucking them dry with medical expenses.

Perhaps this is an insurance company's way of killing off the baby boomers.

Leave Politics out of Womens Health Issues

The fallout over the recent decision by the Susan G. Komen Foundation not to fund Planned Parenthood spread far and wide like wildfire in very short period of time.

The outrage expressed by women has now forced executives to do an about face. Here is a letter from our Komen NC Triangle Affiliate:

We know it has been a very difficult week for our supporters. The news has been full of stories about the National grant policy.

TODAY, we are pleased to announce that Susan G. Komen National headquarters revised its GRANTS POLICY.

We heard the concerns from many of you and hundreds of community members and shared the messages with National. As an Affiliate, we were just as distressed as you were over the lack of clarity and facts originally given by National headquarters concerning the grant policy. We are continuing to work hard every day alongside our volunteers and community health grantees to educate, save lives, and support breast cancer survivors.

The policy change means that all eligible agencies may apply for health grants. Our grants process must be free of political influence.

The NC Triangle Affiliate LEADS with its MISSION to improve lives and end breast cancer through empowering women and ensure quality of care for all.

In 2011, through support from the Race for the Cure, individual and corporate philanthropy, and other fundraising events, the NC Triangle Affiliate was able to invest $1 million in community health grants to fund 18 organizations throughout our 20 county service area.
Local community support helped to provide:
• 5,168 Mammograms
• 902 Diagnostic services
• 479 Clinical breast exams
• 95 Patient navigation services
• 85,782 Touched through outreach about breast health, symptoms, risk factors and regular screenings.

Thank you for your continuing support! We would not be able to accomplish everything we do without the support of our volunteers and donors. It is with you by our side that we move forward and continue toward our mission of a world without breast cancer.

Please help us spread the word and bring back those who left us over this issue.

Best regards,
Kathy Burns, Interim Executive Director

Don Cornelius Put Future African American Baby Boomers on the Dance Map

If you're an African-American baby boomer, you grew up with Don Cornelius and the Soul Train gang.

I was 14-years-old when the show made its debut. Before that I was a fan of American Bandstand and a local dance show out of Cleveland, OH---even though there were very few black faces.

I remember how excited I was to see people who looked like me on Soul Train dancing to the music I heard on the radio. Hearing my hometown music heroes, The O'Jays, singing the theme song and seeing someone I knew from high school dancing on the show kept me glued to my TV set every Saturday at noon.

Don Cornelius and Soul Train not only showcased the big stars, but we were also introduced to the up and coming talent and the blue-eyed soul of acts like Hall and Oates and Average White Band.

Who could forget the soul train scramble board or the dance line, where everyone became a star with their own unique style of dance? Soul Train became so popular at one point that some whites started complaining that they were being discriminated against because none of them were represented on the show.

According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, Soul Train became the longest-running first-run nationally syndicated show in television history, bringing African American music and style to the world for 35 years.

Soul Train put future African-American baby boomers on the dance map in a mighty big way. I am sad to learn of the death of Don Cornelius but as he would say, "I'm Don Cornelius, and as always in parting, we wish you love, peace and SOOOOOUL!

Baby Boomer Obesity and Paula Deen

In case you haven't heard, baby boomers are becoming known for more than being the "greatest generation." According to the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, a unhealthy percentage of us are being treated for obesity. And who might we have to thank for that?

Some are now pointing their bellies, hips and thighs to the queen of southern cooking: Paula Deen. This week, Deen announced she has Type 2 Diabetes---even though she continues to promote her high fat, high calorie recipes as the "best tasting, finger-lickin' good" food you'd ever want to eat. It's no secret she has made millions off of non-suspecting baby boomers with her products and best selling book, Paula Deen's Southern Cooking Bible.

But now get this: Paula says she is now teaming up with Novo Nordisk to endorse the company's diabetes drug Victoza. Victoza is an injectable drug used with diet and exercise to control blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes. She also claims she will be donating a portion to the American Diabetes Association.

I wonder if the portion she plans to donate will be as hefty as those southern "kill me with a heart attack, hypertension, diabetes" dishes she's served up to us gullible boomers.

Should You Age Disgracefully?

Special Guest Post by Jane Baskin









Jane Baskin, author of Jane of the Jungle, thinks you should.

“People say there’s something to be said for aging gracefully,” says Baskin. “Baloney. Between the longer lifespan and the economy, it’s time to age with attitude.”

• If it sags, lift it. 13.1 million plastic surgery procedures were performed in 2010. Why not?
• If it’s gray, dye it.
• If it’s baggy, throw it out.
• If it’s stuffy-sedate, avoid it.
• If it’s lonely, check out Meetup.com. (this is not a dating site)
• If it’s still lonely, run as fast as you can to the nearest saloon and talk to strangers. It’ll do in a pinch.

To the many seniors crippled by the recession, she says, “If your choices have been cut back, you may be bent, but you don’t have to be broken. Hit the road. Live cheap. Live in an RV, stay with friends, live in your car. Be like you were when you were young and carefree, and thumb your nose at misfortune.”

Mind you, Baskin is not trying to deny aging. “Of course we’re going to get older. But over the hill has become a very long trek these days,” she says. “We have to do it differently.”

Longer lifespans are becoming the norm. Social Security estimates that most baby boomers will live to an average 93 years of age.

“It used to be, you worked ‘til 65 or so, hit the rocking chair, and waited,” says Baskin. “In most cases, it wasn’t that long of a wait. But now, it could be 25 or 30 years or more. That amounts to 2,912,000 rocks for the duration of your retirement. Are you kidding?

“I believe in a whole second stage of life – ‘Life 2.0.’ Rather than becoming sedate, this is the time to kick up your heels. This is the time to not give a tinker’s damn what people think of you. It’s a second childhood, the last one you’ll ever have. If you really want to bake cookies, do it in between adventures.

So, skip the mumu and the rocking chair. Skip the tea parties unless the company is lively and the tea is spiked. Says Baskin, “Gray is for cars and gun barrels. Dye your hair. Lift your face if you want. Work out, run, dance, use it or lose it. With modern medicine, nutritional and exercise science, you can be healthier than some thirty-year olds when you’re in your sixties and beyond. So I ask you, why not?”

“And if some kid in the saloon where you’re playing trivia for free drinks calls you ‘grandpa,’ tell him, ‘Fasten it, kid. I’m old enough to really know this stuff.’ And then go ahead and win the trivia. You could take a snapshot of his face on your cell phone, but that might be nasty.”

About Jane Baskin
Jane Baskin is a former Boston TAB features writer and clinical social worker. She lives in the mountains outside Albuquerque, New Mexico, with her husband and their herd of dogs and cats. For more on the adventures of aging disgracefully, visit Baskin’s blog, Forever Kinda Young, at http://foreverkindayoung.blogspot.com

Seniors and Plastic Surgery

At one time about 5 years ago, I thought about having breast implants. My husband, however, convinced me I looked fine just the way I was. That's all I needed to hear to keep me from going under the knife. But what about those women 50 years old and older who don't have anyone to convince them breast implants aren't necessary? What about those women who truly believe breast enhancements will make them look younger and as appealing as they did 30 years ago? Certainly we all want to look as good on the outside as we may feel on the inside but what are we willing to risk in order to do it?

According to one cosmetic surgeon, as long as the patient is healthy there are no additional risks to the surgery nor a longer recovery time. As a matter of fact, nearly 85,000 people aged 65 and older are getting plastic surgery these days. Joan Rivers, at 78 years old, is one of them.

Here's my question, what is so bad about growing older? One would think it would be wiser to save your money to live well in retirement---not for the purpose of becoming well-endowed.

Baby Boomers Looking to God for a Hook Up

If you're over the age and 40 and still single, chances are you have probably considered online dating as an alternative to finding a good mate. But which site(s) do you consider?

The fact that more and more baby boomers have gotten into the online dating game has created a million dollar industry for a number of sites like Match.com and eHarmony.com, to name a couple.

Now it appears another dating site has sprouted up and directly targeting the Christian community. In a recent press release, ChristianMingle.com announced that nearly two million singles joined ChristianMingle this year in hopes of finding God’s match for them. Now, with over 5 million registered members, ChristianMingle is the largest and fastest growing online community for Christian singles.

“ChristianMingle believes that marriage is important, but also that relationships and community are important,” said Matthew Barnett, ChristianMingle Advisory Board member and lead pastor of Angelus Temple. “ChristianMingle serves as a great resource for singles looking for companionship in like-minded Christians who share the same belief system and interests.”

Online dating through ChristianMingle is a targeted, self-selecting experience, based on the premise that Christianity is central to whom a person is and, therefore, the driving force behind what Christians look for in a potential mate.

So whoever thinks the internet is the devil's playground may need to think again.