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It used to be a luxury to have a credit card. Now it seems to be a life raft to many Americans who are trying to stay afloat until the next paycheck.

I have four credit cards I have paid off at least three times in the last six years, promising myself to live on a cash-only basis. But I pull them out when I have to buy something that can't wait until payday.

Credit debt used to be the albatross of people under the age of 65. Not anymore. Credit card debt has risen in the senior class at an alarming rate.

The Senior Citizen's Law Office in Albuquerque reports credit card debt has risen from 39 percent in 1989 to 85 percent for people age 65 and older. In 2001, a study showed people ages 65 to 69 held an average of $5,800 in credit card debt.

I can relate, because my use of credit cards has increased significantly in the last two years. I have good health insurance and a flex account for my medical expenses. A flex medical account is a benefit offered by employers, which allows employees to set aside up to $3,000 a year for medical care from their paychecks before taxes.

This year I set aside $2,500 based on my expenses from 2005. I tapped out my flex account in June, which forced me to use cash or credit to pay co-payments and deductibles and for noncovered medical supplies that cost around $100 a week. My medical costs have eaten up any disposable income I once had.

If I didn't have credit cards, I would certainly be in the hospital. My health insurance eliminates items from coverage every year and raises my premiums to boot. I've had to apply for another card to help pay for dental restoration resulting from medication side effects.

My parents and in-laws, all senior citizens, told me they have similar problems. Instead of enjoying the fruits of 30-plus years of labor, they worry over credit card bills.

The use of credit cards by the elderly and people with disabilities is a necessary evil that increases economic vulnerability. When they can't make the minimum payments, they face the dangers of debt collection, poor credit ratings and possibly losing their homes. Many adult children of elderly parents are burdened with the extra costs of managing their parents' debts along with their own.

I have two suggestions that might help this problem. Insurance companies should increase covered benefits to parallel the increase of higher premiums. And credit card interest rates should have a ceiling mandated by federal law.

These suggestions appear to be reasonable, but I fear this country has lost all reason unless vast profits can be made. Should such greed become an American tradition?

McKee is a freelance disability writer and producer. E-mail her at chairgrrl@chairgrrl.com