Health insurance both in Argentina and on the occasional trip to the USA

[americas]

Hi all,

I'm currently paying about $350 a month for an ACA plan in the USA which is a cost I'd like to cut. How do you all navigate health insurance for both (1) general coverage here in Argentina as well as (2) coverage when you travel back to the USA? I'm currently invincible with no major prescriptions or ongoing healthcare costs and I have no near-term plans to develop a serious illness or suffer an accidental injury. I'm younger than 40.

I did some searches in the forum but didn't see any clear answers for both of those two goals, many of the questions were about the travel insurance requirement due to covid. It seems like people on the forum do have private insurance here in Argentina, and Swiss Medical is one of the only plans I've seen mentioned.

Health Insurance prices in Argentina

How much is the current PAUM benefit for those who are eligible?

baexpats.org

Is there any advantage to me buying medical insurance there before I turn 65?

I am moving to BA in August but in July I turn 65. I want a local policy in Argentina I think, lol. Sometimes with insurance like medical, there is an advantage to buying it before you turn 65 like guaranteed renewals for a longer time. Is that the case with Argentine insurance? Which medical...

baexpats.org

 

[lunar]

... and Swiss Medical is one of the only plans I've seen mentioned.

This is not the case.

Local health insurance

Hi, I am currently a permanent resident in Argentina and looking to enroll in local health insurance, what is your recommendation? I want to select the best quality option not necessarily the monthly cost.

baexpats.org

... (2) coverage when you travel back to the USA?

Many local insurance companies include travel insurance by default, or you can buy one yourself from aggregators like squaremouth.com specifically for your trip.

 

[lmay123]

Hi all,

I'm currently paying about $350 a month for an ACA plan in the USA which is a cost I'd like to cut. How do you all navigate health insurance for both (1) general coverage here in Argentina as well as (2) coverage when you travel back to the USA? I'm currently invincible with no major prescriptions or ongoing healthcare costs and I have no near-term plans to develop a serious illness or suffer an accidental injury. I'm younger than 40.

I did some searches in the forum but didn't see any clear answers for both of those two goals, many of the questions were about the travel insurance requirement due to covid. It seems like people on the forum do have private insurance here in Argentina, and Swiss Medical is one of the only plans I've seen mentioned.

Health Insurance prices in Argentina

How much is the current PAUM benefit for those who are eligible?

baexpats.org

Is there any advantage to me buying medical insurance there before I turn 65?

I am moving to BA in August but in July I turn 65. I want a local policy in Argentina I think, lol. Sometimes with insurance like medical, there is an advantage to buying it before you turn 65 like guaranteed renewals for a longer time. Is that the case with Argentine insurance? Which medical...

baexpats.org

Opening this thread back up as I am in the same position. I will be spending a year in Argentina and looking for cheapest form of health insurance. Would love to know the route you took here!

 

[Rich One]

Check OSDE have plans for $100 or less for under 40 y.o. You can add coverage for the occasional US trip.

 

[ArgentinaVet]

I've had OSDE 450 for many years. It currently costs 135k pesos per month (just went up 8.74%) and includes international travel coverage provided by Universal Assistance. A few months ago I injured my back while in USA and needed medical attention. The process to use the international coverage could not have possibly been easier and is handled entirely within the OSDE and Universal Assistance iPhone apps. A Telehealth phone call through the app with an Argentine doctor is the first step; then a USA doctor calls you and any resulting prescriptions are handled through the Universal Assistance app and forwarded to the nearest CVS. Universal Assistance coverage also included discounted prices on prescriptions in USA. If I remember correctly the UA coverage tops out at $40,000 USD.

 

[americas]

Opening this thread back up as I am in the same position. I will be spending a year in Argentina and looking for cheapest form of health insurance. Would love to know the route you took here!

I didn't really resolve this because I don't have private insurance in Argentina but here are some notes:

1. (Assuming you are on an ACA plan) I canceled my ACA plan which saves $500 / month. BEWARE: you must read the requirements for special enrollment eligibility in ACA plan. There are various rules about "major life events" that let you cancel the plan and then reopen one at your convenience. A major life event is the loss of a job, moving (especially moving states or in this case countries), and that type of thing. The issue would be if you needed to return to the USA in eg, March 2024 and weren't eligible to enroll as a special enrollment period -- you would need to wait until the following January 2025 for the normal enrollment period.

2. I did not enroll in a private insurance plan here. I understand that public hospitals are available to me in the case of an emergency.

3. I don't have any chronic conditions and pay for routine health stuff out of pocket. It's $10 for a dental clean at a nice place, $50 for a wisdom tooth, $12 for a dermatology visit, etc. My belief is that if I were to develop a chronic condition (eg. cancer) I would be able to find a way to get insurance and/or treatment relatively easily. I could schedule every specialist visit and cosmetic procedure that I could imagine and don't think I'd hit the $5000 worth of health insurance premiums I paid in the U.S. for the lowest-tier plan available there.

Were I to have a catastrophic event like severe Dengue or a car crash, I wouldn't expect to be devastated by the bill, although that might be my own ignorance because I'm not informed about those types of costs. I also have people around me in the medical field who would know how to navigate the system in that event and could help determine the quality of care at a public hospital. I also have enough in savings that I'm confident it wouldn't be devastating (which is actually not how I felt in the USA even with the insurance).

4. For returning to the USA I would get a travel plan, but haven't visited there yet.

Given that you said "the cheapest option", then you it might make sense to: (1) cancel your USA plan if that saves you $5000+ a year like it did for me, (2) pay out of pocket for routine checkups and even specialists here (3) schedule as many health checkups as you possibly can while here because the costs are so low. In the U.S. I considered healthcare as a last resort but here I view it much much more proactively (4) use the public hospitals in case of emergency, but beware that the quality and wait times might be an issue. (5) buy temporary insurance if you plan to visit the usa or neighboring countries.

The point I'm least certain about is "Use the public hospitals in case of emergency".

 

[Ruta Otto]

I didn't really resolve this because I don't have private insurance in Argentina but here are some notes:

1. (Assuming you are on an ACA plan) I canceled my ACA plan which saves $500 / month. BEWARE: you must read the requirements for special enrollment eligibility in ACA plan. There are various rules about "major life events" that let you cancel the plan and then reopen one at your convenience. A major life event is the loss of a job, moving (especially moving states or in this case countries), and that type of thing. The issue would be if you needed to return to the USA in eg, March 2024 and weren't eligible to enroll as a special enrollment period -- you would need to wait until the following January 2025 for the normal enrollment period.

2. I did not enroll in a private insurance plan here. I understand that public hospitals are available to me in the case of an emergency.

3. I don't have any chronic conditions and pay for routine health stuff out of pocket. It's $10 for a dental clean at a nice place, $50 for a wisdom tooth, $12 for a dermatology visit, etc. My belief is that if I were to develop a chronic condition (eg. cancer) I would be able to find a way to get insurance and/or treatment relatively easily. I could schedule every specialist visit and cosmetic procedure that I could imagine and don't think I'd hit the $5000 worth of health insurance premiums I paid in the U.S. for the lowest-tier plan available there.

Were I to have a catastrophic event like severe Dengue or a car crash, I wouldn't expect to be devastated by the bill, although that might be my own ignorance because I'm not informed about those types of costs. I also have people around me in the medical field who would know how to navigate the system in that event and could help determine the quality of care at a public hospital. I also have enough in savings that I'm confident it wouldn't be devastating (which is actually not how I felt in the USA even with the insurance).

4. For returning to the USA I would get a travel plan, but haven't visited there yet.

Given that you said "the cheapest option", then you it might make sense to: (1) cancel your USA plan if that saves you $5000+ a year like it did for me, (2) pay out of pocket for routine checkups and even specialists here (3) schedule as many health checkups as you possibly can while here because the costs are so low. In the U.S. I considered healthcare as a last resort but here I view it much much more proactively (4) use the public hospitals in case of emergency, but beware that the quality and wait times might be an issue. (5) buy temporary insurance if you plan to visit the usa or neighboring countries.

The point I'm least certain about is "Use the public hospitals in case of emergency".

The thing to remember is that in Argentina, as a new member, insurance can and will have a clause about "pre-existing conditions ", something that is against the law in the USA thanks to ACA. So, god forbid, if you have cancer and think you can just sign up for insurance then, guess again. Insurance will not cover you for any pre-existing conditions for one year, if they take you at all. The purpose of insurance is to have it IF you need it, not to get it WHEN you need it.

 

[Rich One]

Insurance rates here for 65 and over, if accepted, are taylor made. They require a batch of tests to determine the final price and Pre-existing conditions are excluded.

 

[lunar]

Insurance rates here for 65 and over, if accepted, are taylor made. They require a batch of tests to determine the final price and Pre-existing conditions are excluded.

What do you mean by "are excluded"? People have to report their pre-existing conditions even if they are asked to take a health check. Plus, a regular health check might not find every decease possible.

 

[Rich One]

It's not a Regular Health Check. The app form requires to list all pre-existing ailments Also if and when the Pre-existing condition shows up and was not previously declared, the insurance will not cover the treatment.