Medicare coverage outside the U.S.

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Caribbean Cool

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I thought I knew something about medicare coverage....I just found out I aint so smart.


I am just starting my study of this policy so I don't claim to be an expert. I will learn about it and probably enroll. I am someone who tends to over-insure. I have the Cigna plan right now and doubt that it compares to the UHC plan (Compass Rose). And I have the Cigna plan because they take seniors (old folks). Anyone who knows about it....chime in.
 
Caribbean Cool said:
I thought I knew something about medicare coverage....I just found out I aint so smart.


I am just starting my study of this policy so I don't claim to be an expert. I will learn about it and probably enroll. I am someone who tends to over-insure. I have the Cigna plan right now and doubt that it compares to the UHC plan (Compass Rose). And I have the Cigna plan because they take seniors (old folks). Anyone who knows about it....chime in.
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I am sure you are expected to LIVE in the US to qualify.
 
Caribbean Cool said:
This plan is only for government employee types....not me.
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I have heard that there are Medicare Advantage plans that are open to everyone in the USA who qualifies for Medicare however I doubt they would pay for someone living permanently in Argentina. Someone who has one told me that if you need emergency care outside the US you have to pay upfront and apply for reimbursement so I should think that a pattern of this would indicate that the subscriber is not resident in the USA
 
Can you qualify for an OSDE or Swiss Medical plan in Buenos Aires or are you too old to qualify? Those medical programs are excellent and not too expensive. I"m going to sign back up for the OSDE 510 plan when I'm in town in November.
 
Caribbean Cool said:
I thought I knew something about medicare coverage....I just found out I aint so smart.


I am just starting my study of this policy so I don't claim to be an expert. I will learn about it and probably enroll. I am someone who tends to over-insure. I have the Cigna plan right now and doubt that it compares to the UHC plan (Compass Rose). And I have the Cigna plan because they take seniors (old folks). Anyone who knows about it....chime in.
Click to expand...
I used Cigna for my wife and myself until about 4 years ago, and I stopped the insurance cover because they kept increasing the monthly premiums (I don't remember how much it was, but it was sufficient to cause me to discontinue the policy). We had never made a claim, so I didn't see the justification. My son was previously insured with Cigna, and he had so much trouble getting them to accept a claim that he eventually gave up. That's the worst fear about an insurance company, they just take the money and when you need them, they're not there anymore.

We're using OSDE here, and while the costs are climbing each month (in Pesos at least), they do actually provide cover. Also apparently in bordering countries, though we haven't tried that. And we use some travel insurance like AssistCard or WorldNomads when we're going to be outside Argentina. I wouldn't recommend Cigna.
 
Have others here had good experiences making a claim with AssistCard? My Argentine other half made a claim following an accident in the UK. Nearly a year of phone calls, emails and promises, promises, promises went by with no result. Problem solved when a friend of a friend had a quiet word with an AssistCard director but that's not the way things should be.
 
The AssistCard seems a bit sketchy. Their travel insurance is included on our Obra Social plans, but with maximum limits of $15k on one plan and $25k on the other. We were told that to be valid for travel to Europe, you need a 30K minimum limit. If we wanted to pay extra, we would be covered. They have lots of giant billboards at EZE, but when we approached their customer service counter on our recent trip to Europe, we were told that they didn't know if we were covered or not. After insisting on speaking to someone who did know, we were told that when we arrive, if they don't ask for medical insurance at immigration, then we are covered. If they do ask, we are not covered. Here's a link to some customer reviews: https://www.bbb.org/us/fl/miami/profile/travel-insurance/assist-card-0633-92006973/customer-reviews
 
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