Aging Aggressively:

This book is prepared as a follow-up to the book by John Burton and William Hall, Taking Charge of Your Health—a book directed toward those over 65 years of age to encourage them to be sure they are in charge of their health not some abstract health care system. The present book goes much further in several directions: 1. It sets a social tone on what is termed Normal Healthy Aging and quality of life after age 70 years. 2. It describes the impending disaster in the present Medicare/Medicaid system, primarily due to the poor planning of proper and adequate funding for the federal program. 3. It describes alternate health care funding used in countries other than the USA, as well as in a few states in the USA. 4. It summarises the present legislative attempts to solve the impending problem (although inadequate). 5. It describes the poor quality of information provided to physicians to determine the best health care for their patients. 6. It describes how each individual must confront him or herself, and then confront their physicians on how to protect their quality of life, not life extension by learning to say, No thank you, to life extension drug programs and end-of life heroic hospital treatments. 7. It sets a positive tone for how senior citizens can enjoy the humor, music, dance, pets, children and grand children while maintaining fitness and mobility through exercise program, financial security through wise personal saving plans and health care organization on an individual level, or at most depending on local city and county funding, and being aggressive in demanding a role in their social environment. The conclusion of the book is that only as individuals can the present mess in the health care system in the USA be corrected. Also the book attempts to provide a basis for the elderly to have fun with their lives, to enjoy particularly their memories of their own lives, and to limit to a minimum relying on a broken health care system.