Current economic conditions necessitate companies cutting costs, and increasingly those costs are retirement benefits. In other words,  it has become more important than ever to save for future medical costs.

Though it’s difficult to estimate what your needs might be, U.S. News and World Report offers 8 Tips for Paying for Health Care in Retirement:

Don’t count on employer benefits – Retiree health insurance agreements often include clauses that give the company the right to modify or terminate the program at any time. If benefits continue, retirees are likely to face higher premiums, increased out-of-pocket expenses, and tougher eligibility requirements.

Consider working longer – Working longer allows you to funnel extra cash into your nest egg, gives your investments more time to recover from recent market losses, and cuts the length of time your retirement stash needs to last.

Try to make it to Medicare – Workers who retire before they qualify for Medicare at age 65 often face the steepest health care costs. The average cost of premiums for employer-provided coverage for retirees under 65 is $13,308 a year, according to a Towers Perrin survey.

Plan for Medicare costs – Retirees with Medicare face significant out-of-pocket costs. Major health care expenses include premiums for Medicare Part B (physician and outpatient hospital services) and Part D (prescription drug-related expenses), co-payments, coinsurance, deductibles, and excluded benefits like dental care, eyeglasses, and hearing aids.

Factor in long-term care – What’s often the greatest retiree medical expense of all – long-term care – generally isn’t covered by Medicare.

Consider long-term care insurance carefully – Long-term care insurance can help protect you from some of these catastrophic costs at a hefty price. AARP estimates that a 65-year-old in good health can expect to pay between $2,000 and $3,000 a year for a policy that covers nursing home and home care.

Go it alone – Retirees who find that they can’t afford their medical needs sometimes choose to delay or go without necessary care. But failing to treat a chronic condition will inevitably lead to higher health care costs in the future.

Invest in your health – Another answer to limiting the cost of health care is to take good care of yourself. There are no guarantees, of course, but in general, a healthy diet and plenty of exercise will not only help you enjoy life but make living more affordable, too.

And here’s another tip: Investigate any possible military insurance options if you were in the service. My dad is a Marine, but he has been retired for many years and was a Reserve for many years before that. He didn’t know he was eligible for Tricare, but he was. It turned out that my mother got very sick not long after he applied, and it covered nearly all her medications. It really saved them, and it even picked up some costs that insurance and Medicare didn’t cover.

What are your plans for affording health care in retirement?