This post has been written in partnership with Aetna. All opinions are of my own.
Most of you know that our family is blended, but not in the traditional sense. No, my husband and I don’t have children with other people but we did bring children into our family – my siblings. My sister has moved on and is married now but my brothers are still with us and we have another roomie that I don’t mention a whole lot on the blog.
A few years ago, my father in law got really sick and spent some time in the hospital. After losing my dad shortly before that, we thought it in the best interest for his health and our peace of mind that he come live with us and he’s been living with us since.
Parents living in homes with their children and grandchildren really isn’t as uncommon as you might think. In fact, a survey conducted by Aetna and Grandparents.com between August 18 ? September 13, 2015 found that 19.1% of grandparents live with their children or other family full or part time. That’s 1 in 5 and it’s a growing trend that we’re seeing in our elders. Lucky for them, living with grandchildren helps 40% of them feel young at heart. That goes to show that family importance doesn’t change a whole lot as we grow older!
Keeping the older generations healthy
The one thing about living with your parents or grandparents is that you can play a more active role in their healthcare. They’re telling us about our family health history and helping us understand what to look out for as far as genetics. 72% of them are also sharing their care preferences with us so that we’ll know what to do in the event that something serious happens to them health-wise.
As children, grandchildren and caregivers, it’s important for us to play an active role in their healthcare and there’s no better time to start than right now. Open Enrollment for Medicare beneficiaries runs from October 15, 2015 to December 7, 2015 and and general open enrollment runs from November 1, 2015 to January 31, 2016.
What should we consider when deciding on a healthcare plan?
That’s an important question and thanks to a briefing that I had with Aetna and Grandparents.com, I’ve got some answers for you.
- You should definitely discuss any new conditions that they’re dealing with that may affect their policy.
- Take notes of the benefits they’ve used in the current plan over the last year and adjust accordingly if there are some that seem useless and/or ones that are necessary for care.
- Consider medications, their cost and any changes that a new plan might incur.
- Over time, we tend to develop a relationship with our Doctors, so check to see if they’ll be able to keep the same provider with their new plan.
You’ll find great resources at Grandparents.com/Aetna or AetnaMedicare.com‘so that together you can make the right decisions for your loved ones.
