Consider Medicare, Medigap and long-term care issues.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

This is the fifth and final column about health insurance at divorce. If you missed any installment, you can find it at www.flyingsolo.com.

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If you or your spouse are over age 50, in addition to the complex health insurance issues covered in our four past columns, you should be sure to inform yourself about other important, yet intricate, questions: The effect of retirement on employer-sponsored health plans, Medicare, Medigap, and long-term care.

With rising health care costs, many employers are either scaling back or terminating coverage. So first find out if your employer has a retiree health program for employees and dependents. If so, what is the likelihood that this benefit will be continued in its present form -- or continued at all?

Because of the unpredictability of coverage parameters and premium costs, we do not believe it is a good idea for an employee spouse to agree to pay premiums for a former spouse or to guarantee coverage. For example, if an employee agrees to pay premiums that are $250 per month today, there is no guarantee that those same premiums might not be $500 per month in two years. And an agreement to provide coverage may be problematical if the employer ceases coverage and the former spouse has health problems.

Make sure you understand how your available retiree plan will coordinate with Medicare, the federal government's health insurance program for those of us who have reached age 65 or have been disabled for more than two years. In reviewing Medicare benefits, you will find a number of coverage gaps when it comes to deductibles and co-payment of hospital, doctor's, and some nursing home bills. That's why Medigap _ also called Medicare Supplement _ policies are so important to those who are 65 and older. Be sure to understand what you are purchasing and its suitability to you and your circumstances.

Contrary to popular belief, the cost of nursing home care is, for the most part, ...