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BUSINESS Thursday 28 February 2019
A25

Liz Weston: Should you move abroad for health care?

By LIZ WESTON EXPAT NUMBERS ARE ON their Yucatan Peninsula
Associated Press THE RISE home, where next-day ap-
The notion that health care About 9 million Americans pointments are the norm
outside the U.S. could be who aren't in the military and doctors are typically
good as well as cheap is a live outside the U.S., ac- trained in the U.S. or Eu-
foreign one to many Ameri- cording to State Depart- rope, he says.
cans. ment estimates. That's in- "It's like in the U.S. — if you
Kathleen Peddicord fre- creased considerably from live in Possum Belly, Ala-
quently hears from such its 1999 estimate of 3 million bama, and they don't have
skeptics as founder of Live to 6 million. The number a hospital and the nearest
and Invest Overseas, a site could rise in coming years one is an hour and a half
for people curious about as millions more Americans away, the health care isn't
living abroad. Actual ex- barrel toward retirement going to be the same" as in
pats like her, however, tell without enough income to a major city, Murray says.
of good-quality care at a maintain their standard of OPTIONS FOR HEALTH CARE
fraction of the U.S. price. living at home. ACCESS
Treatment for a motorbike Health care is a particu- Expats may be able to
accident in Panama cost lar concern for Americans qualify for a country's pub-
her $20. Emergency den- who want to retire before lic health care system if
tal surgery that might cost age 65, when Medicare, they become residents.
$10,000 or more in the U.S. the government health Otherwise, there's typically
was $4,500 in Paris. In many program for seniors, kicks in. a private system in which
countries, medications that Currently, early retirees can people can pay out of
would require a prescrip- buy coverage through the This April 2017 file photo provided by NerdWallet shows Liz pocket and get reimbursed
tion in the States are avail- Affordable Care Act, but Weston, a columnist for personal finance website NerdWallet. if they have private health
able directly from licensed it's not always truly afford- com. insurance. Peddicord and
pharmacies at low prices, able and its future is uncer- Associated Press her husband, Lief Simon,
thanks to government sub- tain. who are in their 50s, have
sidies or regulation. Some who would otherwise health care, which includ- national Living and Live an international health in-
"The health care in a lot of retire plan to keep working, ed the strong possibility of and Invest Overseas give surance policy that covers
places around the world rather than risk being unin- being bankrupted by can- the country top marks, them whether they're trav-
is very good, as good as sured. But a move abroad cer treatment and winding along with Mexico, Ecua- eling or at home in France
in the United States," says could be an option for up at the mercy of New dor and Malaysia. Interna- or Panama. The annual
Peddicord, who currently those intrepid enough to York State's welfare sys- tional Living praises Thai- cost is about $3,000 for both
divides her time between try it. tem," she wrote. land and Costa Rica as of them, she says. Murray,
Paris and Panama. "Some Cheaper health care also HEALTH CARE QUALITY VAR- well, while Live and Invest 69, says he and his wife pay
places, it is better." may appeal to gig econo- IES BY DESTINATION Overseas says Portugal, about $80 each month for
Low-cost, quality health my workers who aren't tied Not all expat havens have Italy and Malta have admi- Mexico's public health sys-
care usually isn't the main to stateside jobs. Freelance great health care systems. rable health care. tem, but use private doc-
reason people move science writer Erica Rex, for Belize, for example, encour- With any country, quality tors and pay out of pocket
abroad, says expat and example, recently wrote ages immigration by ex- can vary — especially in for most care (including $8
Mexico resident Don Mur- an opinion column for The empting retirees from most sparsely populated areas. for a recent hospital visit to
ray, who writes for rival site New York Times about mov- income taxes — but many Murray and his wife, Diane, treat an eye infection).
International Living. But re- ing to the United Kingdom expats there cross the bor- left their first retirement des- "My personal budget no
duced medical expenses and then France after her der to Mexico for health tination, a small town in longer contains a line for
are part of the lower living 2009 cancer diagnosis. care, Peddicord says. Ecuador, after encounter- health care expenses,"
costs that prompt many "Moving to Europe was a France, on the other hand, ing broken equipment and Murray says. "They are so
Americans to relocate, he choice weighed against is known for its excellent few doctors. They're much inconsequential there is no
says. other, grimmer options for health care system. Inter- happier with the care near need."q