Think you can’t haggle over medical costs? Or demand that your doctor see you on time? The December issue of AARP Bulletin examines how to become a more effective advocate for yourself to receive better health care for less money. The issue also looks at the “Patient First” revolution that could be the future of reducing health care costs, how to transition to a less physically demanding job (“When Your Job is a Real Pain”), and socially responsible investing (“Investing with Conscience?”). Additionally, December’s AARP Bulletin includes an exclusive interview with Vinton Cerf, the 73-year-old “father of the internet,” and a story of a war hero who died 75 years ago in the attack on Pearl Harbor, but whose remains – due to advances in DNA technology – are finally returning home.
Stories in the December AARP Bulletin include:
Better Care, Lower Cost (Cover Story): By becoming a more assertive consumer, you can help improve the health care that you receive and save money at the same time. Learn how to save money on doctor and hospital visits, search for generic medicines, negotiate your hospital stay with the ombudsman (and not the billing office), and tell your doctor that you won’t wait past a specific time for his or her tardiness. Faced with a deadline, chances are, the staff will fit you in.
The ‘Patient First’ Revolution and What It Means for You: Innovative medical organizations are moving toward a new system of charging for health care – “value-based medicine” or “patient-centered care” – that pays providers based on the patient’s healthy outcome. Central to the growth is the notion of shared savings: If providers succeed in lowering costs while administering good health care, they should share in the rewards.
When Your Job Is a Real Pain: If you work for your entire life in a physically demanding job, it may be time to shift into a less strenuous career. Learn key lessons, like how to try something new, even if it feels uncomfortable at first – or learn how to find better opportunities in your current field of work.
Investing with a Conscience?: Personal finance expert Jane Bryant Quinn writes on socially responsible investing (SRI), which means choosing stocks that reflect your values, regardless of whether they make you richer. But, as it turns out, this portfolio can also help you retire well too. Multiple studies demonstrate that indexes of “responsible” stocks perform at least as well as the total market over the long term.
After the Storm, We All Need to Work: Let’s Unite Behind Our Shared Goals: Regardless of whom you supported in the November election, we share many of the same concerns. AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins writes about how we can get our leaders to put political partisanship and distrust behind them and come together. If this election has taught us anything, it is that not all of us are experiencing the same America. We have to be willing to step into someone else’s shoes in order to have constructive dialogue on some very serious issues facing our country now, and others that are sure to occur in the future.
Q & A: Vinton Cerf (exclusive interview): The 73-year-old “father of the internet” speaks with AARP Bulletin in this exclusive interview about his hopes and fears for the web. Retirement is not on the horizon for him as he works for Google as “chief internet evangelist.” Instead, his interactions with young people and “new science” keep him going strong in the workforce daily.
Finally at Rest: The Wagoner family of Wichita, Kansas, has finally received the remains of their relative, Navy Seaman 2nd Class Lewis Wagoner, who died 75 years ago in the attack on Pearl Harbor. Wagoner served aboard the U.S.S. Oklahoma. Due to advances in DNA technology, the Pentagon is now able to identify Wagoner and others who were buried at the time in a mass grave, so that their families can finally lay them to rest.
About AARP Bulletin
The definitive news source for AARP’s members, AARP Bulletin (http://www.aarp.org/bulletin/) reaches more than 23.5 million households each month in print, with additional news and in-depth coverage online. Covering health and health policy, Medicare, Social Security, consumer protection, personal finance, and AARP state and national news developments, AARP Bulletin delivers the story behind the key issues confronting 50+ America. The monthly consumer-oriented news publication has become a must-read for congressional lawmakers and Washington opinion leaders, and it provides AARP members with pertinent information they need to know.