Health woes of retired persons

Health is always a matter of worry for the retired persons because, as long as he is in service, he gets various types of free treatment that accrue to him as a matter of right. Everything is hunky-dory as long as he is in service – once he retires, he becomes a non-entity. What then?
In the UK and the USA, healthcare is a responsibility of the government till death but not so in India. Here, it is every man for himself and individual organizations like the railways, the steel plants, and large manufacturing units have their own medical services.
Large private enterprises also have their own medical services and, in cases where the organization does not have any hospital of its own, it links up with other hospitals to extend the necessary facilities.
But, everywhere these are available till he retires – once retired, he has to go in for some of medical insurance that is offered by a host of agencies.

However, in HAL, the authorities had taken a decision to continue to offer its medical services to retired employees – only, it was not totally free but the retirees had to pay some nominal charges for medicines and, also, hospitalization. That was a big relief.
Moreover, it was a pleasant experience as well because when I went for the monthly medical checkup, I would meet old acquaintances and exchange pleasantries. At times, we would sigh at the news of the passing away of someone known to us.
However, in the background, work was going on at the management level to introduce a sort on medical group insurance cover for all employees. And, it has been introduced.
Now, there is no need to go to our hospital. I can get treatment from any registered doctor and submit the claim for reimbursement. There is a fixed amount allocated for regular medicines and also for hospitalization and, in case, the amount exceeds it, the claim is not honored.
It is not a bad scheme – only, due to its introduction, we retired persons have become more isolated because the regular meetings in the hospitals no longer happen. (to be continued...)

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The usual pastime for retired persons is to go for morning walks, preferably in the company of other retired persons. The trend is for existing retired persons to scout around for others in the neighborhood who can be inducted into their fold. The general logic is – the more, the merrier.
If one eavesdrop on their conversation one would realize that it hinges mostly around specific topics like health and service life interspersed with sighs about the son who stays far away or the daughter who wants to be near them but just cannot do so because of her family obligations.

It is strange that even though all of the retired persons know that the distance between dreams and reality keep widening and can never merge, they create make believe situations to justify their loneliness.
Yes, loneliness is the single common factor that binds these elderly men and women who have devoted their life to raise their kids but are unable to enjoy their company because the world around them has changed. Every one of them is in the rat race and, driven by ambition, they do not have the time to share their feelings.
Of course, those who dish out TV soaps do not accept these – that is why in practically every family drama, we get to see joint families which is, in reality, a figment of the imagination.
Well – after their morning walks, they return home to sip their cup of tea and glance through the daily newspaper or switch on the TV to get the audio-visual version of the news with a battering of jingles and ads to spice up the day. For the religious minded, there are TV channels devoted to their cause.
Then comes the session meant for breakfast and medicines – both are equally important. But, even though the inner self might pine for the choicest spicy stuff, the actual intake is far from spicy. It is the desire to live that overrides all other desires and one is confined to foods that taste awful but are said to be a balanced diet of necessary amounts of proteins, vitamins and other nutrients that the body requires.
After a noon siesta and a cup of tea to pep oneself up, it is back to the couch and the TV remote to devour another TV soap or a reality show that appears to be very unreal – with the participants mouthing specifically designed sentences. (to be continued …)

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