Retiree health coverage is increasingly rare, and individual insurance is expensive, but there are some steps people can take to prevent health insurance concerns from derailing their encore careers, according to U.S. News and World Report.

For example, you may be eligible for coverage under your spouses’ plan or by continuing COBRA coverage through your former company. Employees laid off between September 1, 2008, and December 31, 2009, receive a 65 percent subsidy toward COBRA premiums for up to nine months under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Fear of losing coverage keeps many workers tethered to jobs they may otherwise be ready to leave, inhibiting their ability to launch encore careers. Those over 50 but not yet eligible for Medicare at 65 face the hardest time finding affordable individual health insurance, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

U.S. News writer Emily Brandon offers these tips:

• Don’t bank on retiree coverage. Less than a third of firms employing 200 or more employees during 2008 offered retiree health benefits. And those that do often have clauses in their health insurance agreements that allow them to modify or end the program at any time. Should your company file for bankruptcy, like GM did, your benefits could disappear overnight.
• Once you’re on Medicare, plan for significant out-of-pocket costs – anywhere from $200,000 to $300,000 for a couple retiring today.
• Spend the time to find the best prescription drug plan under Medicare Part D. One study found that only 6 percent of older adults chose the lowest cost plan offered in their area during 2006.
• Consider long-term care insurance. You can verify the financial health of insurers with A.M. Best, Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s or your state health insurance department. Alternatively, if you go it alone, be aware that a private nursing home costs an average of $209 a day and a one-bedroom unit in an assisted-living complex costs about $37,000 per year.
• Invest in your health. Eating healthy foods and exercise can help you enjoy life and forestall medical expenses.

Read Emily Brandon’s articles in U.S. News and World Report.