EDITOR'S NOTE: As Americans continue the uphill climb to economic recovery, deciding where to invest is only part of the battle. In our special report, "Build Your Financial Life Plan," we offer a complete strategy for all aspects of your financial well-being. We've also developed an interactive tool to help you create your own plan. To get your customized strategy, go to www.smartmoney.com/lifeplan.

For years, financial advisers have made at least token efforts to tell clients to save for medical costs, but few Americans budgeted them into their life plans beyond their needs in retirement. The problem is, mounting evidence demonstrates that health expenses are becoming a major financial burden long before the sunset years. Health care debts are a contributing factor in 62 percent of personal bankruptcies, according to a 2009 study by Harvard University researchers. And Fidelity estimates the average couple will need $240,000 to cover their out-of-pocket medical needs in retirement.

So factoring health care costs into any financial strategy is now a top priority.

It's just as important, of course, to stay covered -- even for devil-may-care twentysomethings. And whether or not they're under an employer's wing, more people are now looking at plans with high deductibles. These plans generally require out-of-pocket payments of anywhere from $1,150 to $4,000 before coverage kicks in, but they protect consumers from the bills associated with a medical catastrophe -- and they typically offer preventive care like physicals for free. In many states, healthy adults younger than 40 can buy such plans on Web sites like eHealthInsurance.com or InsureMonkey.com. Many employers are moving in this direction too, in an effort to cut costs. The consultancy Mercer estimates that the number of firms offering high-deductible plans has doubled since a year ago. A healthy 45-year-old female in Missouri buying insurance would pay about $4,400 per year in premiums for a Humana health insurance plan with a $1,500 deductible. If she doubled the deductible, she'd pay just $2,400.

People who stay healthy can make the high-deductible proposition more financially appealing if they open a health-savings account. These plans let patients save money for health expenses tax-free and keep any unused money for retirement. Experts, however, caution consumers to watch out for plans that set maximums on what they'll pay for coverage, either each year or over the lifetime of the plan. (High-deductible plans are much more likely than HMOs and other employer plans to have such caps, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.) Such coverage can leave people vulnerable if they get seriously ill, and patient advocates often recommend steering clear of it.

Health care costs typically rise as folks get older, as do insurance premiums -- particularly for people who retire before they qualify for Medicare at 65. So more patients now shop carefully for care and even haggle for it.
Some insurers now let consumers comparison-shop online by viewing the prices specific hospitals charge for procedures. On PriceDoc.com, consumers can do the kind of reverse bidding associated with the travel industry, making an offer for what they'd be willing to pay for a service up front in cash.

at www.cms.hhs.gov/PFSlookup/. Adding 25 percent to that figure offers a sense of what an insurer will reimburse, a good starting point for negotiating with a doctor. Deals on pharmaceuticals can deliver hefty savings too: The average brand-name drug costs $120, while generics average $34, and Wal-Mart and Target offer more than 125 prescription medicines for $10 per 90-day supply.