Category: June – July 2012
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Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan
In March of 2010, Congress passed and President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act — the new health insurance law. The law creates a new program — the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan — to make health insurance available to you if you have been denied coverage by private insurance companies due to of a pre-existing condition. If you’ve been locked out…
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Good Health and Living
Hawaiian Seniors live long with good food, song and dance Ke Ola Pono No Na Kupuna Program (KOPP), meaning “good health and living for elders” is one of many projects operating within ALU LIKE Inc., a state-wide non-profit agency that helps Native Hawaiians achieve their potential for themselves, families and communities. KOPP enriches the lives…
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Our Kupuna, Our Kuleana
Decades of service protect seniors from fraud This year, Hawai‘i’s Better Business Bureau (BBB) will be turning 67 years old. The bureau was here from when Hawai‘i became a state to when one of its citizens became the U.S. President — and it’s still going strong. In fact, you could say that the BBB is a kupuna…
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The Hidden Epidemic – Dementia
How and why we’re not prepared for an increase in cases Dementia is a degenerative neurological disease, which is incurable and fatal, rendering a person unable to care for himself/herself. It can deplete family members emotionally and financially, yet there is insufficient funding to research this disease. In America more than 5.4 million people are…
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Message from the Editor – June / July 2012
Aloha mai ka kou. I would like to introduce myself. My name is Wilson Angel. I am the art director for Generations Magazine; and a close friend and classmate of Percy Ihara, the publisher of this magazine. In this issue, Generations Magazine wanted to direct our reader’s attention to the Hawaiian concept of kuleana. Growing up, I only…
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Are You a Planner?
The end of your life begins now While more Americans are living longer, they will inevitably cope with one or more chronic conditions and disability. Recent statistics reveal that more than 70 percent of individuals in their 80s have some degree of dementia or diminished capacity. In order to ensure that your wishes are followed,…
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Having ‘The Talk’ with Your Loved Ones
Where do they want to be cared for and how? Recently, I reached my 50s, along with millions of other aging baby boomers. I can still remember when I was in my 20s and I thought 50 was old—really old! But, baby boomers are revolutionizing how we think about age … and, also about how…
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Kimokeo Kapahulehua: A Modern Hawaiian, in Love with a Bold Mission
Following his inner guiding star, Kimokeo skillfully navigates the subterranean waters of his own inner world and kuleana. In the Hawaiian tradition, the purpose of life —the meaning of our being here on Earth — is to fulfill a unique responsibility, our kuleana. This traditional way of looking at human existence addresses the age-old questions about the meaning…
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Retirement: Start Again
When one thing ends, another begins. There is something about retirement – the word retirement, the thought of retirement, the actual process of retirement – that brings mixed emotions. For some folks the word retirement causes excitement, for others terror. And, there are those who vacillate from one to the other. We retirees experience all…