Monterey, CA Seniors Exercising To Stay Healthy And Stay Out Of The Hospital

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The Monterey Herald recently profiled Ruth Clark, a 95-year old woman who works out 7 days a week with weights doing aerobics.  It's great to see seniors like this that are active, but Ruth isn't doing it solely to get in shape.  She realizes that exercising regularly will cut down on medical bills, a growing concern for the elderly.  At Hands To Help Seniors, we get calls from people asking for help with their medical bills and even prescriptions.  Experimental cancer drugs, for instance, can cost thousands of dollars and most seniors just don't have the money.  Except for a nasty nose bleed a few years ago, Ruth has managed to stay out of the hospital since the mid-1970's and estimates she has saved tens of thousands of dollars in hospital costs and in-home health aides and private duty caregivers like those provided by our Platinum sponsors, Alliance Home Health and Family inHome Caregiving.  She is thankful for her good health, and for the cost savings that have come with it.  She "treats" her arthritis by doing daily workouts in her apartment.  "Every single joint gets moved," she told the Herald.  She stopped smoking in 1960, and the former Connecticut state senator eats mostly fruits and vegetables.  Thus far, she has avoided chronic ailments like heart disease and diabetes.  Researchers are still trying to unlock clues as to why some people live much longer than others.  The jury is still out on how much is attributable to genes and the environment as opposed to eating right and getting exercise.  But the latter clearly helps.  The nonprofit Employee Benefit Research Institute estimates that a 65-year old couple will need $271,000 to give them a 90% chance of having enough savings to cover their out of pocket medical costs throughout their retirement.  And those which live long will obviously pay more.  "The financial burden is highest for beneficiaries who are older, in relatively poor health, and have low or modest incomes."  Medicare recipients that are 85 or older spend an average of 30 percent of their income on out of pocket medical expenses, about $4,615 per year, according to an analysis done by NewRetirement.com.