Obras Sociales when retired with pre-existing medical conditions?

[charlesfradley]

Health care here is excellent and very affordable from a self-pay perspective ( personal experience ) ..... my US physicians have expressed admiration for the health care I receive here, as well as the cost .... Like a lot of important things in Argentina, YOU NEED AN ARGENTINE SHERPA ..... the person who introduces you is significant in Ar ..... established and repeat business is still the holy grail here .

OK well I have been emailing to "Sherpas" in Argentina, so I guess I will have to pursue my enquiries in that direction. I was hoping I could do the research myself via the internet, but all the insurance brokers in Arg will not talk to me without an Arg telephone number. Do you think a "Sherpa" will find better news for me than I have been able to myself?

 

[zensailor]

OK well I have been emailing to "Sherpas" in Argentina, so I guess I will have to pursue my enquiries in that direction. I was hoping I could do the research myself via the internet, but all the insurance brokers in Arg will not talk to me without an Arg telephone number. Do you think a "Sherpa" will find better news for me than I have been able to myself?

 

[zensailor]

By ''Sherpas'' I mean ANYONE that you know, that has experience, and you trust ... it could be a friend, it could be a professional in your social circle, or it could be the kind lady that was sitting beside you at your last appointment .... I have my DNI, so I can't speak for tourists .... and no, you can't answer this question, or meet the need, without coming to Argentina and checking it out for yourself ..... The very least you would end up with is a really good vacation ..... good luck

 

[charlesfradley]

That approach you suggest simply does not work for me. I cannot spend thousands of dollars and sit around for weeks or months in a strange country with no medical cover and not knowing whether I will get any or whether it will be affordable.

I need to know what the solution is before I start dropping thousands on plane tickets and hotel bills.

Clearly Argentina is not in my future.

 

[zensailor]

That approach you suggest simply does not work for me. I cannot spend thousands of dollars and sit around for weeks or months in a strange country with no medical cover and not knowing whether I will get any or whether it will be affordable.

I need to know what the solution is before I start dropping thousands on plane tickets and hotel bills.

Clearly Argentina is not in my future.

I can personally assure you that we do not walk through Buenos Aires stepping over the bodies of uninsured tourists.

 

[charlesfradley]

I can personally assure you that we do not walk through Buenos Aires stepping over the bodies of uninsured tourists.

Really? how about tourists aged in their 70's or 80's? And what about local people, not tourists? Here is a scenario: I am sitting in a restaurant in Buenos Aeries, with no health insurance, and I have a heart attack. I am sure this happens quite often in reality, heart attacks are more common than you might think, especially with older people.. and I am not talking tourists, I am talking local people too.....

Argentina has one of the highest prevalence of diabetes in the world, and heart attacks are an every day occurrence amongst diabetics.

What happens? how do I cover the cost of the consequences? What if I spend a month in the ICU recovering?

Can I trust the free public health system to give me first class care on an urgent basis?

Or would it be safer for me to remain in USA on my privately covered Medicare policy?

Two of my uncles suffered from heart attacks, at first they survived but the consequences were life changing. Subsequently one of them died from a follow on heart attack, the other is still alive, for now. A few of my best friends literally dropped dead to the ground with heart attacks.

This is a real concern, I want to hear how the public system of Argentina deals with it.

Your responses seem rather flippant and are not inspiring me with confidence.

 

[sts7049]

sounds like you should just stay where you are

 

[ArgentinaVet]

Really? how about tourists aged in their 70's or 80's? And what about local people, not tourists? Here is a scenario: I am sitting in a restaurant in Buenos Aeries, with no health insurance, and I have a heart attack. I am sure this happens quite often in reality, heart attacks are more common than you might think, especially with older people.. and I am not talking tourists, I am talking local people too.....

Argentina has one of the highest prevalence of diabetes in the world, and heart attacks are an every day occurrence amongst diabetics.

What happens? how do I cover the cost of the consequences? What if I spend a month in the ICU recovering?

Can I trust the free public health system to give me first class care on an urgent basis?

Or would it be safer for me to remain in USA on my privately covered Medicare policy?

Your responses seem rather flippant and are not inspiring me with confidence.

Two of my uncles suffered from heart attacks, at first they survived but the consequences were life changing. Subsequently one of them died from a follow on heart attack, the other is still alive, for now. A few of my best friends literally dropped dead to the ground with heart attacks.

This is a real concern, I want to hear how the public system of Argentina deals with it.

Now is most definitely not the time to come to live in Argentina for a senior citizen with health issues who is not independently wealthy. Everything in terms of prices is in flux and what is true today could be completely different in a few weeks or months. This is a revolutionary moment in the Argentine political/ economic system and folks who do not need to be here are better off waiting this moment out until the situation stabilizes one way or another.

 

[charlesfradley]

Now is most definitely not the time to come to live in Argentina for a senior citizen with health issues who is not independently wealthy. Everything in terms of prices is in flux and what is true today could be completely different in a few weeks or months. This is a revolutionary moment in the Argentine political/ economic system and folks who do not need to be here are better off waiting this moment out until the situation stabilizes one way or another.

Thank you for an honest and serious answer.

I definitely think my health will be better protected in USA than Argentina.

I feel sorry for all the diabetics in Argentina who are in their 70s and older, they are at very high risk and nobody seems to care. I feel I am much more fortunate by comparison. I think Argentina needs to reconsider their medical policies for older citizens, since it represent a life expectancy problem for the aging Argentine population.

 

[Utopos]

I'm about 70, with several pre-existing conditions not terribly unusual for my age. I've heard wonderful stories of how great things were in the past, however this is the present. I honestly believe that living in Argentina will shorten my life due to the health care here.

I am here for family. If my personal health were my only consideration, I would be elsewhere.

In the U.S. I (actively) found a general practitioner that acted as a facilitator/focus for all my needs. Because of him, I had continuity of care at every level. I greatly respected his opinion, he respected mine. In Argentina I'm lucky just to be able to get an appointment with a specialist. And when I do and tests are ordered, I am unable to get a follow-up appointment to review the results with the same doctor. At least in the same year. Seriously.

Health care in the U.S. is really expensive, even with medicare and perhaps an additional employer plan. But there are options and possibilities to work with, work around, and get what is needed. Here? I expect to soon be paying $1m pesos/m for substandard 3rd world care at best.

Just my 2 centavos...