Call it escape, retirement, or a sabbatical. Those who’ve dreamed of living abroad, or want a break from the gruelingly slow pace of economic recovery in the US, might find 2009-2010 just the right year to get away for a few months or even a year. One huge consideration for boomers is where to find good quality of health care, accessible doctors, affordable prescriptions, and a sense of health security.
There’s irony in this, of course. Many Americans who have held jobs, paid insurance premiums, and stayed the course in places like Florida and Detroit find, today, that they don’t have either adequate health insurance, or health care, right here at home.
So while the health reform debate marches on, Americans living abroad may get some first-hand experience of how the US healthcare system can be better organized, less fragmented, and more successful.
American Boomers Can Cut Medical Costs Living Abroad
The US healthcare system is not only not the most cost-effective worldwide, it doesn’t always produce the best health outcomes.
Tens of thousands of Americans already know from first-hand experience that medical care abroad can be less expensive, comfortable, and thoroughly professional. In 2006, AARP Bulletin reported that a half-million Americans sought treatment abroad, including major surgeries. Most were driven by cost savings. News reports suggest that many, to their own surprise, were quite satisfied.
T.R. Reid's book, A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper and Fairer Health Care (Penguin, 2009), documents the author's 10-nation journey through various kinds of national medical systems. What Reid describes is a broad spectrum of medical systems. And although many are quite different from the American health care system, he found a variety of models of health care systems that delivered excellent, affordable care
Living Abroad-The Challenge of Finding Health Care
Most European nations, plus Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Israel have excellent healthcare systems. But these happen to be nations with a high cost of living. They would prove expensive getaways for Americans seeking to ride out the recession-and-recovery on a shoestring.
If an affordable lifestyle and healthcare are the sole considerations in deciding where to live abroad, it might make sense to look at countries, such as India, that belong to the Commonwealth. English would be spoken. And with a little research, it would be possible to find doctors and hospitals associated with one of Britain’s Royal Colleges, providing kind of good housekeeping seal of approval for a gold standard of care.
Alternatively, one could go where medicine meets tourism. According to the Medical Tourism Association, nations leading in medical tourism include India, Thailand, Singapore, Costa Rica, Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, Malaysia and Mexico. Each specializes in specific interventions, from dental care to cardiac or cosmetic surgery to hip or knee replacement, as well as alternative therapies. However, one would need to check carefully about the quality of care and other health considerations outside of those areas of medical expertise being marketed for tourists.
It's helpful to have a checklist of questions and criteria to assess when evaluating foreign medical care.
For Baby Boomers with a travel itch in the wake of this recession and recovery, it's possible to move abroad and receive fine, affordable health care. But at age 50 or so, certain things need tending. So it’s essential to review existing health insurance coverage, and learn about the health care system of one's future host nation. Essential documents include a list of English-speaking providers, updated documents such as living wills, medical records with contact information for doctors and health providers, health insurance card, perhaps a dictionary of medical terms in both languages, and a plan for obtaining prescription drugs.
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