Wow, the healthcare debate has gone ballistic, and we Boomers are firmly caught in the middle. No matter which version of the healthcare changes makes its way into law (if it does), it will affect us in two ways. The first will be our health insurance NOW, before we retire. (Remember that health insurance is one of the big 3 expenses in longevity planning.) There may be changes that affect our ability to get, keep, or pay for health insurance. Then, in about 3 years when Boomers approach their 65th birthdays, it's MEDICARE time. As part of this proposed legislation, Medicare may carry more restrictions, or may lose funding, or be more expensive because there will be so many of us. In addition, the Medicare supplemental insurance may be subject to some of the changes affecting health insurance in general. So, the bottom line is, be prepared for some changes, and they may not be all good!

My advice is to take a close look at your current health insurance now, if you have it. Your premiums may go up when you hit the next "age band": age 60-65. That's coming up pretty soon for many of us! You may have some options, though. If you want to keep the same insurance, you can go with a higher deductible, which will lower the premiums. If you are thinking about changing insurance plans and are worried about pre-existing conditions, you might want to wait until the proposed healthcare legislation is passed, because there is a provision that will prohibit denial of coverage by insurance companies due to pre-existing conditions (which will likely be in the final bill, cross our fingers).

For the Medicare plan itself, there's not a lot you can do about it because it's the government, and you don't have a lot of choices. However, pay attention to some of the changes being made, so that when you do turn 65, you will have a plan in place to pay the premiums and make some decisions about the supplemental insurance options available to you.

So..bottom line is, you may have to actually read the legislation (all 1000 pages or so) and pay attention - especially with regard to WHEN the laws go into effect versus when you will be reaching that magic age. If you are armed with the facts, you'll be better prepared to make the decisions when the time comes.