Health Insurance Options If You Retire Abroad

If you're getting older and thinking of a permanent travel abroad, it's important to know that your health insurance will not follow you. U.S health plans generally do not provide coverage oversees. Medicare does not provide coverage out of the United Sates. There are options for your health care needs.

1. Cash
It might sound crazy, but paying cash for health care might be a realistic option. If you look at the prices out of the U.S, the costs of health care might be less. U.S costs for health care are generally very inflated and do not reflect quality of care. If you are young and are comfortable with your cash state, paying for health care with cash could be a good option.

2. In 'Country Medical Insurance
For international retirees, this option could be less costly than others. Coverage usually is provided through a network of doctors, hospitals and other providers. These plan costs do very from different countries, but they are half that of international policies. You could also choose this option and use travel medical insurance if you're travelling around this country.

3. International Medical Insurance Policy.
If you do plan on travelling in your retirement, this option might be the most worthwhile. These plans are usually the same structure as U.S based plans with deductibles and levels of coverage. Routine cares like doctor's visits, and travel are covered by these plans.

4. International Medical Insurance Policy
If your overseas retirement plan includes lots of travel, this may be your best option. International health insurance policies are structured in the same way as U.S.-based plans, with different levels of coverage and deductible amounts.

5. Hospital Insurance Plans
These plans tend to be the cheapest because of how limited they are. They are delivered only through one single hospital network. They could cove routine doctor visits and medications, and could cost just 80$ per month. They are limited to larger cities.

6. Nationalized Health Care
From the world's 33 developed nations, there are universal health care systems for each with the exception of the U.S. These health care systems are usually open to all legal residents in the country. Think of it like this, if you are an Italian citizen in the United States, you are not covered by the U.S plan. However, if you visit Italy and have resident status, you could be covered by their national insurance plan. For other countries, there is low-cost medical care for legal residents who are senior citizens.

7. Travel Insurance
If you do not plan your voyage on being that long, you may want to consider the basic travel insurance. This lets you keep your U.S health plan, but provides you with coverage in a case of a crisis if you are travelling abroad. It will not however cover you for route medical care or chronic conditions.

Date Posted: 2017-06-15