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Feeling the pinch on your retirement pocketbook because of medical bills and healthcare needs? There are easier ways for seniors to stretch a dollar when it comes to their health and wellbeing. Don’t miss these 9 go-to tips:

Find Out What Insurance Will Cover

Before you head to the pharmacy to buy a cane or walker over the counter, for example, find out if your insurance will cover the cost of one. With a direct medical order from a treating physician, insurance companies can cover some if not all of the cost of durable medical equipment or other healthcare products you may require.

Ask Your Doctor for Free Samples

One of those most expensive costs seniors cover is on medicine. Whether in need of a refill or starting a new prescription, it is worth asking your general practitioner or prescribing specialist if they have free samples in your dosage at their office that they can give you.

Get Free Preventative Care

An array of free preventative screenings, tests, and vaccinations are available to many seniors via their private health plans or Medicare. Save on medical costs down the line by taking preventative steps now with covered wellness checkups, colon, prostate, and breast cancer screenings, flu and pneumonia vaccines, and smoking-cessation counseling.

Rent Instead of Buy

Did you know that medical equipment is sometimes available to lease instead of purchasing? Mobility aids in particular are often available on a rent-to-buy basis, like a rental knee scooter or wheelchair. If recovering from injury or surgery, rental options might be more cost effective than a large upfront investment for medical equipment you will only need temporarily.

Offset Costs With Supplemental Income

Stretch your healthcare dollar by supplementing expenses with fresh income. Short of picking up a part-time job, seniors can also make extra cash selling collectibles and gently-used high dollar items online, tutoring or giving lessons for money, or renting out an extra room in their home.

Shop Online

Whether you’re looking to fill a doctor’s prescription or in need of a medical device you are paying for out of pocket, always look online. Prescription drugs are available internationally at a fraction of the cost you might pay at your own U.S. pharmacy, and with sites like PlanetDrugsDirect.com which require a prescription to process an order, the cheaper alternative is safe and legal. Online websites that sell medical equipment, vitamins, and other non-prescribed items often offer free shipping deals and discount promotions for first-time buyers too.

Get a Second Opinion

Thinking about investing in a high dollar piece of medical equipment or procedure your doctor has recommended? Sometimes it pays big to get a second opinion that helps you find a less expensive but just as effective alternative.

Use Coupons

Don’t pass by the coupon books and fliers your home pharmacy issues each month – they could help you with health care costs on vitamins, simple medical equipment, pain relief medications, incontinence supplies, and more. Websites like InternetDrugCoupons.com also offer you access to printable coupons you can use on a variety of medicines.

Get a Prescription

Some over the counter medicines, like those used to treat allergies, are also still available via prescription and can end up costing you way less when insurance is helping pick up the tab. In the same vein, generic versions of your brand name prescription might be just as effective for you but cost way less. Do a little research with your insurance provider and ask your physician to write you a prescription for effective, cheaper medicine that might otherwise cost you 5x as much off the aisle shelf.

Staying healthy as a senior shouldn’t break the bank. Simple tips, tricks and reminders can save you hundreds of dollars a year, if not more.

Article Provided by:
Joe Fleming
Co-Founder, Vive Health

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So what’s hot with senior fitness this year? It’s all about embracing the future of digital technology while also harkening back to the basics and approaching exercise with a mind-body lens focused on overall wellness.

Senior fitness is critical! When the entire Baby Boomer generation finishes aging into the 65+ age bracket around 2030, they’ll comprise 20% of the U.S. population – wow! Where expert recommendations for older adults used to focus on resting and avoiding exertion, recent decades of scientific and social research has found that staying active and regular exercise play important roles in healthy aging, fall prevention, and fighting age-related diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Wearable Fitness Technology

Popular with younger generations too, wearable fitness technology has exploded in the past few years. From FitBits to BellaBeats, wearable fitness technology typically looks like a sleek bracelet or pendant which you wear to track personal health stats like steps taken in a day, heart rate, etc. Synced to an app you access on your smartphone or computer, you can also track your diet and nutrition, calories burned, and even your sleep quality.

Commercial Fitness Programs
As boomers age into retirement and the largest generation by numbers so does their disposable income and ability to pay for exercise classes and trainers. Gyms and fitness centers are picking up on this trend and offering more and more senior classes than ever before. At the same time, the renowned Silver Sneakers premier fitness program is still going strong, offering no-cost, unrestricted access to 13,000 participating gyms across the U.S. for senior citizens.

Outdoor Exercise

Blame it on climate change, or simply the fact that southern city populations are growing at exponential rates (hello, Florida!), but getting outdoors is trending big time with the 65+ crowd – from outdoor yoga to hiking, and most recently spreading all across the world, senior wellness playgrounds. Why hit the gym when you can play outside on a customized playground engineered for older generations? Senior playgrounds might include stationary bicycles, face to face leg presses, low balance beams, games like boule or horseshoes, walking paths, and more.

Functional Fitness

This industry term, “functional fitness,” has been thrown around for a handful of years now, but as more and more Boomers hit the gym, it’s practicality remains quite popular. Functional fitness simply means exercising and strength training for the daily activities you need to complete. Examples include building up forearm and back strength for lifting groceries or caring for a spouse, focusing on leg strength and agility for climbing stairs and rising from a chair successfully. Functional fitness routines focus and prioritize cardio, strength and resistance training that makes sense for older adults who, for example, might not be looking to run marathons, but want to stay healthy and strong enough to mow the lawn, lift bags of mulch, and prepare their annual vegetable garden.

Exercising to Fight Pain

As more and more research emerges about natural pain treatments, i.e. for osteoarthritis or acute back pain, exercise is being positioned as a go-to pain solution recommended even before pharmacological methods are taken. For example, at the beginning of 2017, the American College of Physicians issued updated recommendations for clinicians treating patients complaining of acute and chronic back pain. In addition to exercise (which helps stretch tense muscles and boost blood flow to fight painful inflammation), the ACP recommended patients try heat therapy, yoga, acupuncture, and massage before taking over-the-counter NSAIDs or prescription pain killers.

Senior Yoga

A rise in mind-body exercises which embrace meditation, relaxation and deep breathing in addition to movement, stretching, and poses is bring mindfulness to the forefront of senior fitness. With a focus on self-actualization and peace, senior yoga is proving to not only help build muscles and bone density but combat stress and anxiety, and stimulate positive cognitive function to fight memory loss and dementia.

Addressing Foot Pain

Did you know that over 80% of older adults complain of at least one incidence of foot pain, though few actually report seeing their doctor about it? This is changing, for the better. Foot pain can not only impair mobility and cause dangerous falls, but it can also prevent seniors from staying active and getting the exercise they need. Addressing the underlying causes and treating foot pain is on trend when it comes to embracing an active and fit lifestyle. Over the counter aids like orthotic inserts for plantar fasciitis or arch supports for high arches might be recommended by your doctor, while proper foot care to prevent skin breakdown and stretch foot muscles can be as simple as washing, drying and moisturizing feet nightly.

Article Provided by:
Joe Flemming, Vive Health
vivehealth@gmail.com

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