Lifestyle Decisions May Be Inflating Health Insurance
At
msnbc the lifestyle decisions of Baby Boomers are linked to problems like obesity and sickness, but what goes unsaid is the relationship between this growing problem and the rising costs of
health insurance.
Of course, there are many, many Boomers out there who take great care of themselves. After all, this is the generation that made yoga, fruit smoothies, and granola into groovy lifestyle options.
But then there are the ones who aren't taking very good care of themselves at all.
According to the article, "obesity rates substantially grew for baby boomers (those born from 1946 to 1965), compared with the generation before them." In some cases, boomers are twice as likely to be overweight as their parents were at the same age.
Why is this happening? A combination of issues seem to be making healthy lifestyle decisions difficult for many Baby Boomers. These include working long hours and lack of sleep, alongside poor eating habits. The more complicated nature of our lives today makes it easy for people to put their health in the back burner. Even worse, Baby Boomers are also more likely to think that medicine will care for them when they really need it: "many boomers have a knack for being overly optimistic" and they delay doing something about their health until the situation is so dire that costs will be very high.
Facts on:
Baby Boomers
Did you know...
In some cases, boomers are twice as likely to be overweight as their parents were at the same age?
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Now, with millions of Baby Boomers in a dangerously poor state of health, (along with everyone else who isn't taking good care of themselves) it becomes a bit easier to see why the cost of healthcare is going up. Combined with the rising costs of technology and prescription drugs, the over-prescribing of those drugs, and the costs of caring for those who make unhealthy lifestyle decisions, American health insurance has become overpriced and impossible to afford.
Hopefully health insurance costs will be the topic of upcoming legislature, as well as a means of making healthy lifestyle decisions easier to make. Until then, consumers are stuck searching for
affordable health insurance that will still protect them in times of need.
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