AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums Talk Belize Chat Area Making the Move ??

I do know of certain residents who are collecting SS / retirement benefits (disability also seems to be a common income stream) that just pay out of pocket to local private docs or travel to Merida, MX. Belize is considered to be socialized medicine, so care at the government clinics/ hospitals is free of charge (I will keep my opinion on the quality to myself).

I believe that there are challenges with getting meds/ prescriptions and I personally don't know the process for shipping meds here.

Back to these Medicare eligible Belize residents. If they get sick or their conditions worsen, they usually return to the US for Medicare benefits (or at least they ought to). Trouble is, they might or might not have airfare funds.... My advice? ALWAYS have a rainy day fund for travel costs as this is not a good place to be when you are ill (JMO).

International Health Insurance? That's a whole other topic and has been covered well on this board

Best of Luck to you!

popcorn, anyone?

Over here! One, please

Simon is a real person, not a troll. Amazingly enough this real person is not from the USA (OMG how can that be?!) but from that "other" country - Canada.
He DID move here, and he did/does live within the bounds of this circumstance, as do many of us. Long ago we chose to live here and when we did we felt (still do) that a short life on this amazing island beat a long life on a drip in LA (or chicago or east sawbuck, USA).
If living within a 3-minute call of 911 is your goal or great necessity, if you have a difficult long-term condition requiring close-in high-tech treatments - then probably a home near Minnesota's Mayo Clinic trumps San Pedro by a long shot. No argument there - it's just a question of personal choice.
If you suffer from near-terminal grumpies, maybe a day swimming with the dolphins or whale sharks would be of help? That we've got.

I collect SS and spend 6 months in Belize and usually at least a couple months in Sweden. My SS check comes to my bank in the US but could be sent to any bank in the world. As to Medicare versus care in Belize, if I need medical treatment I just go to the clinic on Caye Caulker. It is staffed by a Cuban doctor who is very good. (Cuban doctors and the Cuban health care system is as good or better then in the US) The US health care system is not as good as many other countries, yes it is better then the Belizean if you have money. When I am back in the States, I get my regular check up from my doctor. Many years ago, I had to have my appendix out it Sweden. That cost me $600US. Things have changed in Sweden since then. I get a temporary insurance policy when I go. For Belize, I keep a credit card available with enough credit to get me back to the States. I like many US citizens who spend long periods in Belize have decided to risk a medical emergency problem in favor of living a comfortable life in a beautiful tropical island. If I sell my house in CT, I'd save the $7,000US that I pay in property taxes and could use that to pay health insurance in Belize. BTW, I have never meet Simon but he has been posting here for more years then the number of messages you have posted. Whose the troll?

Like Ron I collect SS and live in Belize about 6 months a year. The payments go to my checking account in the USA and bill pay or similar is used to pay bills. I cash checks in Belize to get cash locally. Last winter I did have a medical emergency which was beyond the scope of the Medical system in Belize so I got on a plane and went back to the USA.

I do differ with Ron's opinion on the health care system in the USA. It is probably the best system in the world and I haven't heard of any Sheiks flying to Cuba for health care but it is a regular thing in Boston where I'm from. Cuban doctors are OK but not up to USA standards.

If I get to the point where health care for me becomes a matter of weekly visits then I guess I'll have to spend less time in Belize. I don't carry insurance in Belize but I do keep a Credit Card on me in case of emergency.

The World Health Organization ranks the US at 37th in the world. Don't agree with that but we certainly can't claim to be number 1. The sheik can go anyplace most rankings are more concerned with how the average person will fair getting health services. I am with Ragman when he says he went directly back to the States to deal with his health matter. Facilities and equipment are limited in Belize which often hampers and professional in any field. Obviously, if I or anyone for that matter needs extensive care better in the US where my Medicare works then in Belize.

But there are lots of Medicare supplement plans that do cover outside the US.

"Simon is a real person, not a troll."

Thats debatable!

Holy hell. Look who's talking. Look at that profile pic, that was taken only 3 years ago wasn't it?