I keep getting these annoying solicitations to join a certain well-known advocacy group for seniors. I'm only 50, for crying out loud. Why doesn't my wife --- whose age shall remain unmentioned in this column --- also get those invitations?

However, after spending a couple of days in the hospital with my 78-year-old father who faced a serious condition, I may reconsider that invitation next time around.

During three days of endless waiting for doctors and tests, we got to know the other patients --- almost all seniors. Inevitably the topic would come around to health insurance --- what companies cover and what they don't.

These ill seniors and their stressed family members were not confident about their future health care prospects. And, after seeing some of the care --- or lack thereof --- that my dad received, I am inclined to agree.

Health care, prescription costs and long-term care are among the many issues seniors and those approaching that age group must confront. So are Social Security, housing, retirement and protection from fraud.

After my experience with my dad in the hospital and participating in the annual budget debates on Medicare, Medi-Cal and other senior services, my concern for seniors has been significantly heightened.

California has more than 4 million people over 65 --- more than any other state. Fortunately, in the 21st century, many are still energetic, healthy people. (We need to pay attention to the needs of this active group as well.)

The Urban Institute, as part of a study on retirement issues, recently released a report on the status of the frail elderly. Their findings reinforce the experience of many families surrounding the financial and emotional pressures of caring for our seniors. ("A Profile of Frail Older Americans and their Caregivers," by Richard W. Johnson and Joshua M. Wiener, Feb. 2006.)

It points out that the demand will only get larger as the baby-boomer generation ages. And issues such as the divorce rate and decreasing birth rates are threatening the critical role of our families in caregiving.

One of its conclusions struck me as typical of modern society: that different income levels will push up demand for expensive community-based care. It reinforces the fact that the gap between the rich and poor is growing.

Last year's debate over Social Security was just one of the opening salvoes in the public policy debate about senior care which will be growing in the coming years and decades.

Our record on how we treat the poor and vulnerable in society is a preview of how the debate on aging concerns will proceed. It's not an encouraging precedent.

Families have been and will remain the primary caregiver for most of us, but the larger community will increasingly have to do its part.

The staggering price of medical care and prescription drugs needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. By 2015, one in every five dollars spent in the United States will be related to health care. That isn't going to work.

Additionally, with the increase in obesity and diabetes among young people, according to the Urban Institute study, the cost of health care rises even more as this population ages.

Fortunately, a revenue surplus in California this year means that many programs for the elderly and others in need will be better funded than they have in the last few years. But our state's ongoing deficits will mean that battles for this assistance will resume soon, if not next year then almost certainly the year after.

And the scary debate on physician-assisted suicide is on California's horizon. Considering health care costs, it is not surprising that the disabled and the frail lead the protest against this evil because they fear being pressured to "save money."

As always, we as a society, must select priorities. Juggling the many demands on a state or nation is not dissimilar from that faced by individuals --- the numbers just have a few more zeros after them.

And preparing for the eventual debates to come starts with our family structure and our own choices. In public policy debates at all levels --- municipalities to the Federal government --- we need to ask our elected officials to look at senior issues.

It's not too late to make a difference and for us all to realize that, sooner or later, we'll all be there --- even those of us refusing to acknowledge we're entering that age group.

Steve Pehanich is the executive director of Catholic Charities of California. Contact him at spehanich@cacatholic.org.