National Nurses United

"I try to stretch it out," says Asbury, a 64- year-old self-employed IT project manager, of a drug he takes to prevent further loss of his bone density. A one-month supply costs $500. "I typi- cally take half and periodically, like once a week, I'll treat myself to a full dosage." He's also sup- posed to take a drug called Pro- tonix for his acid reflux, but when he runs out, he switches to an over-the-counter substitute until he can afford to buy more. Asbury shouldn't have to be making these choices, but he does, because he's one of Ameri- ca's 46 million uninsured and pays for all of his medical care out of his own pocket. He's also part of the growing number of older Americans who don't get medical cover- age through an employer and find themselves caught in a gap between being too old to qualify for or afford health insurance on their own, and not being old enough to get Medicare. About 13 percent, or 6.4 million, of the nation's 48 million people ages 50 to 64 were uninsured, according to 2003 figures that AARP, the national group that advocates on behalf of seniors, released in a 2004 policy report. And as the baby boomers grow older and this age group expands, that proportion is expected to swell accordingly. By 2015, people in this age group are expected to constitute 20 per- cent of the population, compared to 15 percent in 2000. Older workers facing age discrimina- tion also often have a harder time finding jobs, never mind a job that comes with health insurance. Anecdotally, this trend of being older and uninsured has accelerated in just the last couple of years. Mark Beach, a spokesman with the Cal- ifornia office of AARP, said that his organization has observed an increasing number of employ- ers reducing or even eliminating promised W h e n m o s t p e o p l e take their daily medicine, they take the amount their doctors prescribe. When Luke Asbury takes his medicine, he bases his dosage on whether he will run out before he has saved up enough money for a refill at Costco, or whether he needs that money this month to pay for things like higher gas prices, rent, or car repairs. An Age-Old Dilemma L U K E A S B U RY, 6 4 , C A N ' T A F F O R D T O B U Y H I S OW N I N S U R A N C E A N D D O E S N ' T Q UA L I F Y F O R M E D I C A R E Y E T. W H AT ' S A G U Y L I K E H I M S U P P O S E D T O D O ? By Lucia Hwang | Photographs by Mia Zumsteg UNINSURED = IN = AMERICA 8 C A L I F O R N I A N U R S E W W W . C A L N U R S E S . O R G

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