One thing a person may have great concerns about as they get older is their health. A senior’s health can have impacts on many things, including what their quality of life is like in their elderly years, what sorts of things they can do during their retirement and what medical and health care costs they end up being exposed to.
Many things can have impacts on a senior’s health, including their personal circumstances and behaviors. What sort of senior health environment is present in the state a senior lives in can also have implications in this regard.
How is Massachusetts doing when it comes to senior health? A recent report says it leads the nation.
The report, done by the United Health Foundation, ranked the states on how healthy of a place they are for seniors. In coming up with these rankings, the study looked at 35 different measures related to senior health.
Massachusetts was given the No. 1 ranking. This is a jump from the previous year’s report, in which the state was ranked sixth.
Of course, there is always more that can be done to improve senior health in a state. One wonders what efforts will be taken in the state in the future to help make the state’s senior health environment even better and whether the state will remain a national leader when it comes to senior health in upcoming years.
Now, even when a senior works very hard to stay in good health and is in a state with a strong senior health environment, they are not immune to health crises. There is no way to completely guarantee one won’t face health problems, and significant and expensive long-term care needs, as they get older.
So, long-term care planning is not just something that is important for individuals who have a particularly high vulnerability to health problems, but can be important for all different kinds of individuals. Being properly prepared in this regard can be very valuable if a major unexpected health problem strikes as one gets older. Elder law attorneys can provide individuals with information and help with advanced planning for potential future health care needs, which can include things like trust-related planning.
Source: Miami Herald, “Massachusetts the best state for senior health, Mississippi among the worst,” Tony Pugh, May 25, 2016