House Calls The prognosis is good for mail order health-care companies.

In the average U.S. household's mail, you can count anaverage of 87 mail order catalogs per year. Yes, mail order hasbecome a way of life for Americans--191.5 million shopped by mailin 1995, according to the Direct Marketing Association, buyingeverything from lingerie to gardening supplies. And now, becausethe much-needed service exists, more and more mail order shoppersare buying prescription drugs, vitamins, fitness gear, diet aidsand other health-care products from the comfort of their homes andoffices.

According to John Schulte, chair of the National Mail OrderAssociation (NMOA), the mail order health-care industry'sannual growth rate of 10 percent to 12 percent helped push sales to$6.1 billion in 1996. And that growth rate is expected to remainsteady. That's a good prognosis for the 560-plus mail ordercompanies--many of which are small businesses--that currentlyspecialize in the health-care sector, as well as for entrepreneurswho are entering the field.

What's giving the health-care sector such a shot in the arm?Schulte cites all the usual reasons shoppers choose mail order overretail, such as convenience and privacy. But he adds that thegraying of America is the major impetus. "As the populationages, there is more need for health-care products," he says."And seniors have higher levels of income and don't likegoing out as much, which makes them a prime target for mailorder."