Health Care Perspectives from the Next Generation - Anna Shepherd Inaugural Post

By Anna Shepherd, Health & Personal Finance Professional

I’m a 23 year old college grad with a degree in Personal Finance and Economics. I’ve worked with the elderly continually since high school and am currently working 2 part-time jobs; one as an in-home caregiver, the other as a transition manager—helping someone downsize their home and life.   In these fields, I touch the outskirts of the medical field and see personally how people face and make the decisions related to their own health.

I was asked to write this from the perspective of youth in this country. I think that is a big task, because I believe a lot of youth aren’t paying attention. With the background of finance, I’m terrified at what’s happening in this country in terms of healthcare spending. It’s unfortunate, because I believe in some of the things in HR 3200. For example, I think that it’s necessary to open up insurance markets and allow the resultant competition to do its job. But then I inevitably reference the results of a 1980s RAND study in which people were given a 0%, 25%, 75% or 100% co-pay for their healthcare. Lo and behold, those with no co-pay used the most healthcare resources. In essence, this experiment is going to take hold nationwide in the next decade and I’m not sure how the results will play out. I must state that I have not read the entire bill, though I’m working at it.

I feel like my thoughts are full of conflict as I try to muddle through the right and wrong of entitlements. I work with the elderly and see how worried and scared they are about money, but see Social Security as a burden that I’m never going to be able to count on. I also care for people coming home from questionable and invasive surgeries only to pass away in recovery.

In the end, my personal view on my health: it’s all up to me. I’m the one who has to do everything possible to prevent myself from ever having to enter this industry as a patient. Unfortunate events happen, and I’m glad we have a system of professionals there to help--I’m not advocating for any extreme anti-medical establishment diatribes--I’m just saying that I’m going to take the best care of my body possible because as I’ve come to realize over the last 2 years, my actions are just about the only thing I can control.