Some questions about health insurance

Hello wondering9,

Thank you for asking your questions here.

This forum is highly active, you can expect to receive some insights in no time.

All the best,

Cheryl

Expat.com team

Sorry me answers for you:

Yes you can get coverage over 70 but only from one company. It's expensive and not great coverage.

Are your referring to the basic govt insurance with Senasa???

I am not American so cannot comment on the last question.   

I'm 76 and applied to SENASA for their insurance. They required several blood labs, urinalysis and fecal analysis.  Then there was a long application.  The good news is that they accepted the application and fully processed it.  My bad news was that they eventually rejected me.  I do have a significant health history, but they said I was denied because of the labs (?).  Still, if someone is over 70 and does not have a background of severe problems, they may be able to get the coverage.

You cannot use  Medicare or Medicare Advantage plans.  (from the USA in the DR.  Not in Puerto Plata and not anywhere else here.

I have Medicare in case I need something major I cannot get done, or would not trust getting done,  in the DR.

I would go to Florida and would not consider PR as an option.  But that is just me.

If you are a US Military Veteran,  there are clinics in Sosua (on Pedro Clisante) and Puerto Plata (near Bournigal) that may provide some medical care.  I was surprised to see this, but it is good for Veterans.

I know of one person who had coverage paid for by Boeing in the USA in her retirement and that insurance was accepted in the DR and paid for by that plan.  Note, this was not Medicare, but a private plan that somehow worked in this rare instance here in the DR.  Definitely won't happen for even most private plans that are not International medical plans.

Some MedGap plans have a bit of international emergency care.

https://www.medicare.gov/health-drug-pl … s/coverage

Glad I stumbled upon this thread. I panicked for a minute trying to remember if I paid my Humano. Checked PayPal and there it was. Sign of relief- lolol.

I also realized that right now I pay for Medicare, MedGap, and Humano, never using the Humano. I bought it proactively before I turned 65. I plan to live long enough to flip the script and pay for MedGap I never use!

From the Medigap site:

What's included in foreign travel emergency care?

When you travel outside the U.S., most plans cover emergency health care, with a lifetime limit of $50,000. Plans may:

Cover foreign travel emergency care if it begins during the first 60 days of your trip, and if Medicare doesn't otherwise cover the care.

Pay 80% of the billed charges for certain medically necessary emergency care outside the U.S. after you meet a $250 deductible for the year.

If you have plans E, H, I, and J that are no longer sold, they still cover foreign travel emergency care.

J----------------

And just like any plan for medical insurance, on the third Tuesday of the month if you don't cross your T's and do your i's you may be denied, or not.  I have a Medicare Advantage plan for the USA and Humano for the DR.  (Medgap , actually Medigap, looks rather limiting in comparison for those back home in the USofA., but that is a topic for a different forum).

@windeguy

Yes Medigap, my bad. And yes. Choosing between Medicare Advantage and Medical is a personal preference.