Seven Steps Retirees Can Use to Control Health Care Costs

Rapidly rising health care costs is the wild card in many retirement savings plans. As I noted when I calculated my retirement number, rising health care costs was one of the main reasons I was so conservative in the amount of money I estimated I needed for retirement. If they keep going at current rates, they will be out of this world by the time I retire.

So I was really interested in this piece on MarketWatch that suggested seven steps retirees can take to lower their health care costs. Their suggestions:

• Improve the use of information technology to cut waste and achieve efficiencies.
• Reduce the toll of medical errors.
• Promote health and healthy behavior from infancy through old age.
• Prevent disease; not just cure it.
• Sharpen our focus on the growing problem of chronic diseases.
• Deal with the escalating cost of prescription drugs.
• Make sure that all Americans have access to the health-care system.

Yep, these seem like good ideas to me. In fact, I've already written about many of them. To see the details, click on the links below:

• Save Money by Correcting Medical Bills

• Money Saving Tip: Take Care of Yourself

• Save 50% on Health-Related Expenses

Of course, you'll still need to plan and save for retirement to be sure you have a long and prosperous life after work. For a list of my best tips on the subject of retirement, see Best of Free Money Finance: Retirement Posts.