For insured employees considering early retirement, the alternatives in insurance coverage once retirement may be restricted. Before employees become eligible for Medicare at age 65, they might purchase a personal health insurance policy once they retire early. however if they are doing thus, they may encounter some issues. First, the prices of individual insurance is prohibitively valuable, particularly if premiums are based on the retiree's age and health status. Second, in some cases, insurers may think about such people "bad risks" and refuse to increase coverage to them or agree to cover them but only by excluding pre-existent conditions.