• by Robin Raff , August 10, 2009

With skyrocketing healthcare costs, an increase in boomer entrepreneurs covering their own healthcare, rising unemployment, and an increase in medical conditions as we age, baby boomers will need to get creative to cover healthcare costs until they're eligible for Medicare. Here are some options they will likely consider.

Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)

High-deductible health plans with an HSA, which increased from 438,000 in 2004 to 6.1 million in 2008, are becoming popular among boomers. As of January 2009, 53% of individual HSA enrollees were over 40 years old. These plans not only offer lower premiums than traditional health plans, but also allow users to save and invest their healthcare dollars on a tax-free basis. Still, many boomers either are unfamiliar with HSAs or don't fully understand how they work.

Financial advisors have also started recommending HSAs as a way to cover long-term care insurance premiums to clients who generally have a high income, are in their 50s, and are looking for a way to realize tax benefits. Even for those boomers who don't have the funds to contribute to an HSA, a high-deductible health plan can be the most affordable option.

But what about the 14% of boomers aged 45 to 64 who are uninsured?

Convenient Care Clinics

There are currently thousands of convenient care clinics throughout the country, primarily serving the uninsured segment. But convenience-seeking, insured boomers also find this option attractive. The "2008 Survey of Health Care Consumers" from the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions found that 38% of baby boomers stated that they would use a retail clinic.

Employers are also offering convenience for wellness, acute and preventive care. Aetna and Concentra, as well as Walgreens' Take Care Health Clinics, provide worksite medical clinics serving a large boomer employee population.

Medical Tourism

For chronic-care needs, boomers who are uninsured, underinsured or paying high deductibles and co-insurance costs out of pocket may consider medical tourism - the practice of traveling outside your home country for medical care. Some treatments outside the U.S. can cost as much as 75% less than prices generally charged here. From dental care, vision care, and cosmetic enhancements to lifesaving surgeries, boomers are beginning to take advantage of this rising trend.

Marketing healthcare to boomers

How do you market these unglamorous products and services to the skeptical boomer segment? Timothy Malefyt, an anthropologist who studies consumer trends, suggests that for many boomers, it's no longer about keeping up with the Joneses - it's about out-thinking them.

"If you make boomers feel they've failed, you'll lose them," Malefyt says. "They want to feel they've outsmarted the system or their circumstances." Here are a few techniques that have been used to do just that:

• Don't sell to boomers; let them arrive at their own decisions with your guidance and support.

• Provide empowering tools that illustrate cost savings and convenience.

• Reinforce boomers' new values as they age (spending less and making smart consumer choices).

• Build communities; offer peer support and sharing opportunities.

• Let them "try before they buy," when appropriate, by offering product trials, online virtual tours, and real-time support.

• Motivate and reward loyal boomer customers providing referrals.

With 60% of adults aged 50 to 64 suffering from at least one chronic health condition, boomers will surely welcome innovative healthcare treatments and ways to keep costs down before they're eligible for Medicare.

Just remember, they see themselves as vital and younger than their years and will continue to be discerning consumers even as they age. After all, boomers have historically "questioned authority," and that isn't likely to change.