The boom in health care is just around the corner. Not a boom in services, but the day when the health system sees thousands of senior baby boomers entering the health insurance market.

If you happen to be selling health insurance, the fact that thousands of new customers will be hitting the market soon will make your day. Baby boomers are poised on the leading edge of being eligible for Medicare in huge numbers, and this will forever change the face of Medicare.

It’s a fact that one in every five Americans is a senior. Come 2050 this will be one in four. If you take the time to do some math, you can see where this market will continually burgeon until even greater numbers of seniors are on Medicare. This is important news for insurance companies and the health system because seniors these days are living far longer than they did before – thanks to the marvels of new technology.

Wave one of the baby boomers will hit the marketplace in roughly a year and a half if they were born in the 20 year period after the end of WWII. The next wave will hit in approximately 2025. Medicare as we know it today will look nothing like it used to with the advent of all these new people becoming eligible to receive benefits. This also begs the question of just how the health system will cope with such an enormous influx of older people needing more care. Think of how expensive that is going to be. Given the state of the economy today, this might be viewed as a touch and go situation at best.

Keep in mind that seniors in the 21st century are leap years ahead of their predecessors. They’re alert, politically aware, highly motivated, intelligent and quite involved in advocating for their future. They’re prepared to take on the government and fight for what they perceive to be their right to adequate health care. They’re also far more financially secure than generations before them and they continue to generate revenue by way of annuities, pensions, social security, jobs (yes, seniors are indeed working past the age of 65) and investments.

Part of the reason that today’s seniors are far more aware of what is going on around them than ever before is that virtually one out of every five over the age of 65 is now online. Just about half of the seniors in the 65 to 75 year old bracket use the WWW. Those over 75 have also taken the plunge into exploring global connectivity.

If seniors are online, what do you suppose they are currently looking for as they surf? If you guessed they were trying to get information on Medicare, health insurance and Medicaid, you’d have just won the prize at the county fair. What a golden opportunity for brokers or agents that specialize in these forms of health insurance, as research reveals these same Internet savvy seniors are also starting their health insurance purchases online now as well.

If you’re prepared for the future and ready to serve the baby boomers as they become eligible for Medicare, etc. then you won’t have any trouble finding customers. In fact, they’ll likely be coming to you first. Make sure you have a highly interactive and easy to use website that has all the information seniors need and provides excellent service.