Health Insurance

I forgot to ask this what do I do with Medicare and supplemental? I don’t anticipate going back to the states for any medical procedures if I can get it done in Brazil it doesn’t seem to make sense to have different policies and different locations. What are your thoughts? Thanks again. Boondog

@Boondog It would depend on your financial situation and of course whether you are definitely 100% committing to staying permanently in Brazil.  Here is a link with more information on medicare.

https://www.medicare.gov/basics/get-sta … t-a-part-b

The rules for the supplemental plans vary state to state, so you need to research that to see what impact.  Chances are that if  you do want a supplemental, you'll need to go through underwriting and see if you qualify. 

Everyone's plans are different, so what might work well for one person won't be acceptable to another.  Personally, I'm splitting my time between Brazil and the US, so I'm definitely keeping my Medicare coverage and supplemental.   My Medicare supplemental has $50,000 of international emergency coverage, so I'll use that if something happens while I'm in Brazil.  All my Doctors and specialists are in the US, so I'm sticking with them for office visits and planned procedures. vaccinations, prescriptions, etc.

09/05/24    I forgot to ask this what do I do with Medicare and supplemental? I don’t anticipate going back to the states for any medical procedures if I can get it done in Brazil it doesn’t seem to make sense to have different policies and different locations. What are your thoughts? Thanks again. Boondog        -@Boondog

Welcome!  It's a purely individual decision, except for Part D, your Prescription Drug coverage.  Your carrier will drop you as soon as they find out that you've moved abroad.  There's no penalty if you return to the US to live and want to sign up later, though, so there's no real downside.

If you have enough credits that you don't pay a premium for Part A (Hospitalization), then there's no point to dropping it.

If you drop Part B (Medical Services outside Hospitalization) and decide later to return to the US and sign up, there's a lifetime penalty.  And if you have it, it's available to you on visits to the US if you need it.  For most people, the premium is deducted from their monthly Social Security payment; I never see the money, so I've never missed it.

Your Medicare Supplement ("Medigap") coverage will depend on your carrier, but most won't mind continuing you as long as you keep paying the premium.

I knew when I was approaching eligibility that I'd be moving to Brazil, so I signed up for a high-deductible Medigap policy.  I've kept that policy and Part A and Part B in case I get sick in the US, or decide for some reason that I want to be treated there for something.  That's the right answer for me, yours may be different.

Once you're in Brazil you'll qualify for SUS the national health plan, which is free.  Waiting times are long, though, so you'll probably want private insurance.  Plan quality varies widely region to region, so ask locals, and any expats in your area, which plans are better before committing. 

Where you plan to live matters......SUS works great where I live as it is a city of 300,000......in Rio, where I also live, it is a constant non stop line, so, I pay for a doctor there.