Insurers catering to early retirees

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Market research done by WellPoint Inc. showed that people begin to shop for these individual policies around age 50.

"They’re a very good customer to have because they’re loyal to the brand once they get in," Thompson said.

But they also can be an expensive customer. People in that age group are far more likely to have chronic health conditions or need treatment for heart disease or cancer than younger populations, said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, a health care advocacy group.

He said that makes insurance companies balk at providing coverage.

"For those companies that may be willing to provide coverage to you, they’ll charge you an arm and a leg because they will adjust their premiums to reflect what the risk might be," he said.

AARP’s Wider thinks insurers are more willing now to take on those risks because they see more potential customers in that age bracket. They also want to build a connection with customers who may later need to buy Medicare Advantage or other coverage that supplements the federal insurance.

The push doesn’t mean everyone will find coverage. Celeste McAllister, 52, dropped her student health coverage last year because it didn’t cover her blood pressure medication. She can’t find a replacement.

The fitness instructor, who returned to school to become a nurse, found coverage was too expensive or not comprehensive. One policy she found online charged a $400 monthly premium, which is too steep for her part-time salary. Another wouldn’t provide enough annual prescription coverage.

McAllister said she has no pre-existing conditions that scare away insurers. She thinks her best bet for finding decent coverage lies in landing a full-time job that offers it.

"As I get older it’s not going to get any easier," she said.

Her lack of success doesn’t surprise Court, of the consumer rights foundation. He worries that insurers rushing to this market will offer policies with low lifetime maximums or coverage that force patients to pay too much.

"If you’re an individual on your own in most states ... and you’re over 50 years old, good luck trying to find health insurance," he said.

But DeRaleau said their insurance offers major medical coverage with at least a $2 million lifetime maximum.

And Thompson and Humana’s DeRaleau both note that insurers do underwrite risk. That means people may have to pay higher premiums to cover some conditions or an insurer may decline coverage for others.

Even so, Thompson said 80 to 90 percent of those who apply for Wellpoint insurance wind up with coverage. He hears that people think they have to "walk on water" to get coverage, but he insists that’s not the case.

"We don’t see denial rates higher at that age group as the other ones," he said.

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