The average healthy 65-year-old couple retiring this year isprojected to spend $288,400 in today's dollars on lifetime MedicareParts B, D and supplemental insurance (Plan F) premiums, accordingto a new HealthView Services report.

By HealthView's analysis, when dental, hearing, vision and allother out-of-pocket expenses are included, that couple's totalretirement health care bill rises to $377,412. All calculations arebased on assumptions that men and women have life expectancies of87 and 89, respectively.

HealthView Services' new 2016 Retirement Health Care Costs DataReport, released Wednesday, provides detailed projections of healthcare expenses in retirement. And what the report finds is thathealth care costs for retirees – driven by health care inflation,age, and increased cost shifting – are continuing an upwardtrajectory.

This is especially troubling considering that only 12% ofworking Americans have taken any steps toward addressing medicalexpenses in retirement, and more than half admitted to knowingvirtually nothing about costs related to Medicare, according to asurvey of more than 4,000 individuals by The Empower Institute andBrightwork Partners.

“Few Americans have taken steps toward addressing medicalexpenses in retirement, and most do not understand Medicare costs,”said Ron Mastrogiovanni, founder and CEO of HealthView Services, ina statement. “Our data shows the significant impact of risinghealth care costs and the importance of planning for them.”

Here are five shocking facts from HealthView's report that manyAmericans may not know:

1.Health care costs will eat up a most or all of retirees' SocialSecurity income.

For retirees counting on Social Security income, HealthViewanalyzes what portion of benefits will be required to coverprojected lifetime medical expenses.

According to HealthView, a 66-year-old couple retiring this yearwill need 57% of their Social Security to cover total health carecosts. A 55-year-old couple retiring in 10 years will require 88%,and a 45-year-old couple, 116%. These calculations are based onSocial Security Trustees' projections of a 3.1% cost of livingadjustment in 2017 and 2.7% thereafter.

“What has not changed is that many Americans will still see asignificant portion of their Social Security income consumed byhealth care costs; for some, medical expenses could eventuallyexceed their benefits,” Mastrogiovanni said in a statement.

Two major developments from this past year affected HealthView'sprevious projections. Last year, HealthView predicted health carecosts would eat up 67% of lifetime Social Security benefits.

The first assumes that individuals will no longer have access tothe restricted filing strategy. This change is a net-negative andmeans that a greater portion of Social Security will be required tocover health care costs.

The second development increased the expectation that SocialSecurity COLAs will rise from the previous projection of 2% toclose to 3% going forward. This is a net-positive, since retireeswill receive higher benefits than prior estimates.

“The sobering reality looking forward is that Social SecurityCOLAs will not be enough to offset rising health care inflation,”according to the report.

2. A key costdriver is health care inflation in retirement.

According to HealthView, overall retirement health care costsare projected to have increased by 7.3% between 2015 and 2016,driven in part by a 16.1% increase in Medicare Part B premiums overthe same period.

Over the next 20 years, HealthView projects a more modestaverage annual inflation rate of 5.1% for retirement health careexpenses. This is consistent with forecasts from the Centers forMedicare and Medicaid, which expects at least eight years of healthcare inflation between 5% and 7%.

3.Women can expect to pay more for retirement healthcare.

In its report, HealthView examines the cost disparity betweengenders, driven by a greater average life expectancy for women.

“Life expectancy differences between genders range between twoand four years (depending upon current age),” the report stated.“Longer life expectancies, coupled with the effects of acompounding inflation rate, mean that women will, on average, spendmore than males on retirement health care.”

According to HealthView, a healthy 30-year-old woman who livesto age 91 is projected to spend $118,632 more in total health carecosts than a healthy male of the same age who lives to age 87.

This difference is directly related to the compounding effectsof inflation in the final fours years of life, HealthView says.

4.Healthy Americans can also expect to pay significantly more forretirement medical services.

While annual costs may be lower for a healthy individual,HealthView said that person's total lifetime costs will actually behigher than someone who suffers from a chronic health conditionbeause they often live longer.

A healthy man or woman can expect to pay almost twice as muchfor lifetime health care in retirement than someone who isdiabetic, according to HealthView.

By HealthViews's analysis, a healthy 55-year-old woman with alife expectancy of 89 can expect to pay $255,859 more than someonewith type 2 diabetes and a life expectancy of 80.

Based on a 10-year difference in life expectancy, the costvariance between a diabetic and healthy man, both 55, will be$251,850.

“The length of a person's life may be the single mostdetermining factor in projecting total health care costs;therefore, expected longevity, which is largely based on individualhealth conditions, must be factored into all retirement plans,” thereport stated.

5.Retirees can face much higher expenses depending on where theychoose to live.

As HealthView pointed out, state of residency plays an importantrole in the variable cost of Medicare Part D (prescription drugcoverage) and supplemental insurance premiums.

Prescription drug and supplemental insurance policies areregulated by states, which approve carriers, policies that can besold and associated pricing.

For example: HealthView revealed a 49% difference insupplemental premiums between Hawaii and Massachusetts.

“While the cost of a supplemental policy may not be the decidingfactor in this person's retirement destination, knowing that shemay require an extra $57,000 for a supplemental plan inMassachusetts may change her savings strategies,” the reportstated.

According to HealthView, it is important to use state data,rather than national averages, when planning for retirement at anindividual level.