s conducted with the American Medical Association showed that there is an increased morality risk for major depression, than minor. But other factors such as smoking and drinking also play a role with morality. Although no one who retires wants to go through all of this. It can be prevented through regular check-ups at the doctor. Although, now that the person is out of work, how would they afford to stay healthy and still live productively?The answer to that lies within HMO’s and social security, both ways that retired person can still afford to live productively and stay healthy. But if they are receiving social security, which according to an article in Business Week on May 10, 1999, “about 80% of the recipients of social security are very dependent on it,” how can they still afford to stay healthy. That same article also points out that in 1997 the average Social Security retirement benefit was only $756 a month, and the average check to a 65-year-old was $815 a month (Business Week p26). That amount of money may be able to help a retired person get by, but there is still the cost of HMO’s and health insurance. Recently certain Medicare companies started to change their policies for customers. According to an article in The Washinton Post, “Popular companies such as BlueCross BlueShield will begin charging Medicare beneficiaries $600 a year in parts of the region where it now charges them nothing to join” (Hilzenrath A01). That same article also points out that some HMOs say they are requiring members to dig deeper into their own pockets because the government is not paying them enough to care for Medicare beneficiaries. The same article also explains the cost increases the retired would most likely be experiencing with these new policies. Some new prices would include a $50 increase for ambulance service, $50 per day for the 30th to the 100th days spent in a skilled nursuing facility. A...
