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  • Home
  • Countries

    Top Destinations:

    Whether you’re looking for fun and sun, a peaceful retirement, or the chance to earn some extra income, you’ve got a real world of opportunity open to you… In short, we’ve done our best to narrow down your best options, but only you can decide the right country for you.

    • Spain
    • Portugal
    • Panama
    • Belize
    • Colombia
    • Cyprus
    • Mexico
    • France
    • Montenegro
    • Browse All Countries

    Best For:

    • The Best Places To Retire
    • Health Care Abroad
    • Cost Of Living
    • Investing in Real Estate
    • Establishing Residency
    • Gun Laws In The World
    • English-Speaking Countries
    • Safest Places For Retirement
    • Best Places In Latin America
  • Budgets

    How Much Will It Cost You To Live Overseas?

    The only honest answer is, we have no idea. And neither does anyone else. The only one who can answer that question is you. Here’s the most important thing to understand about budgeting your new life overseas…

    Super Cheap

    • Chitré, Panama
    • Santa Marta, Colombia
    • Phuket, Thailand
    • Dumaguete, The Philippines

    Cheap

    • Medellin, Colombia
    • Boquete, Panama
    • Kyrenia, Cyprus
    • Hua Hin, Thailand
    • The Algarve, Portugal

    Affordable

    • Valencia, Spain
    • Cascais, Portugal
    • Las Terrenas, The DR
    • Pisa, Italy
    • La Rochelle, France
    • Mazatlán, Mexico

    Luxury

    • Ambergris Caye, Belize
    • Kotor, Montenegro
    • The Panama City Beaches
    • Paris, France
  • Resources

    Global Living

    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore & Diversification

    Making Money

    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing

    Follow Us:

    • Meet Our Experts
  • Real Estate

    Buying Real Estate For Cashflow

    • Discover tips and strategies used by global property investing veterans

    Explore Our Latest Posts

    • Learn how to invest and purchase property abroad…

    Go To The Overseas Property Alert Site

    • How To Become Independently Wealthy And Fund The Lifestyle Of Your Dreams
  • Conferences

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    • Explore Our Events Site

    Live and Invest In Spain Conference

    Offshore Wealth Summit

    Greece Workshop

    VALENCIA, SPAIN

    Sep. 17-19, 2025

    PANAMA CITY, PANAMA

    Oct. 15-17, 2025

    VIRTUAL

    Nov. 13, 2025

    LEARN MORE
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    LEARN MORE
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    Toll-Free U.S. and Canada:
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    Reach us with your questions by email at: events@liveandinvestoverseas.com

  • Store

    Unlock The World

    • Access Your Library

    Overseas Havens Reports

    • Expats' comprehensive destination guides

    Conference Kits

    • Hours of coverage  from our latests conferences

    Lahardan Books

    • Titles on living and investing around the world
    • Explore Our Store
    Your passport to a life well-lived abroad

    Services

    overseas living letter offers affordable retirement guidance
    The Simon Letter Wealth Protection Insights
    Global Property Advisor Global Investment Opportunities

    Our Customer Service team is here to assist with any questions or concerns CustomerService@LiveandInvestOverseas.com

  • My Library
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Home Retirement/Living

The Cost Of Health Care Overseas

Kathleen Peddicord by Kathleen Peddicord
Jan 01, 2025
in Retirement/Living
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Dollar bills with stethoscope. Cost Of Healthcare Overseas

Adobe Stock/Henrik Dolle

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In some places around the world, it is possible to arrange good, comprehensive health insurance for less than US$120 per month.

In some countries the cost of medical care can be so low that it can make more sense to pay for it as you need it, rather than insuring against it.

And, under certain circumstances, health care can even be free.

These are all potential upsides of one of the most important, complicated, and personal aspects of retiring overseas.

With a few exceptions (notably, military policies), your U.S. health insurance probably won’t cover you outside the United States and Medicare generally won’t work overseas.

Therefore, when planning for how to pay for your medical care as a retiree in another country, you’re choosing among three options:

You could purchase a local insurance policy, invest in an international insurance policy, or opt out of insurance altogether.

This last option may seem frightening and risky, maybe even crazy, but I know a number of full-time retirees overseas who have chosen to go the no-insurance route.

They’ve done the math and realized that they’re better off keeping an emergency medical fund (an amount of money that would be enough to cover even catastrophic care in the country where they’re living), rather than paying monthly insurance premiums.

When you’re talking about a place where a doctor’s visit costs just a few dollars, as it can in Thailand or Vietnam, you begin to understand how this math adds up.

Still, most retirees don’t feel comfortable having no medical insurance. In this case, you’re choosing between a local health care policy and an international one.

A local policy is one purchased in the country where you’re intending to retire. The big advantage of this type of health insurance is that it can be super cheap.

Depending on your age (which is the primary determining factor), you can purchase comprehensive coverage for care at international-standard facilities in some countries for as little as US$80 a month.

In other words, you could arrange health insurance in some of the most appealing retirement spots in Latin America, including Panama, Uruguay, Ecuador and Colombia, for less than US$1,000 a year.

The downside to this kind of policy is that the coverage is limited geographically.

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A local health insurance policy will cover you only in the country where it’s purchased and sometimes only in particular regions or at particular facilities in that country.

For example, some local health insurance purchased in Panama will cover you only in Panama or at a particular hospital.

This can be OK if you’re retiring full-time in Panama and don’t intend to travel outside Panama often.

Even if you’re intending to live full-time in a particular city, though, choosing to insure your medical care through a particular hospital in that city can be risky. Hospitals can and sometimes do go out of business.

Then what?

The other downside to country-specific health insurance is that you usually can’t purchase it after age 60 or 65, depending on the country and the insurer.

Your coverage won’t be discontinued after you reach the cut-off age (assuming you’re paying the premiums), but, beyond that age, you won’t be able to qualify as a new policy-holder.

This is one reason why, if you’re considering the idea of retiring overseas, it’s important to address the issue of health insurance sooner rather than later.

International Health Insurance

If you intend to move around a little in your retirement overseas, you probably want to arrange health insurance through an international carrier.

Perhaps you intend to base yourself in Ireland or France, for example, so you can travel regularly throughout Europe. Or maybe you’re considering retiring overseas part-time, basing yourself in Mexico but returning frequently to the United States so that you can stay in touch with your grandkids.

In situations like these, an international policy makes more sense, because you can customize it according to your plans.

The biggest international health insurer is Bupa Global. Coverage through Bupa is going to be more expensive than local coverage (perhaps considerably more), but it’s also going to be more flexible.

And while international coverage is more costly than local coverage, it’s almost always less expensive than U.S. health insurance (Medicare aside).

Coverage through an international insurer like Bupa can be based in the country where you’ll be spending most of your time, but, depending on the policy, can cover you worldwide.

It could even cover you in the United States, though the United States could not be your base country of coverage.

Most, importantly, including the United States in your coverage will also increase the cost of your premium considerably because the United States is the most expensive place in the world to seek medical care.

The cost of a Bupa policy varies depending on the base country, the geographic scope of coverage, your age and any pre-existing conditions.

A typical premium for a 60-year-old might cost US$400 a month.

The Cost Of Healthcare Overseas

In some places overseas, health care can even be free. In fact, this is the case in many countries.

The catch is that you must be a legal resident and usually you must have paid into the social system at some point to access the available free health care services.

The further catch is that the available free health care services may not be up to a standard you’ll be comfortable with.

Health care is free to residents who qualify in most of Europe, for example.

I lived in Ireland for seven years. We used the free public health care services in that country often and were always happy with the results.

In fact, my son Jackson was born at the public hospital in Waterford, Ireland.

The care he and I received was great, and it was also free of charge. (Although, we were paying into the social services system because we were running a business in the country at the time.)

However, our experiences were during Celtic Tiger Ireland.

Today, some 20 years later, Ireland’s public health care is stretched to a near breaking point.

Hospitals are closing, and even patients with serious concerns are on long waiting lists for treatment.

And in most of Central America, for example, most foreign retirees are not going to want to use the free health care even if they do qualify.

Retired overseas should you keep your Medicare?

As I mentioned, Medicare typically won’t do you any good outside the United States. However, I recommend that you continue to carry at least Medicare Part A, which is typically free, viewing it as a fallback plan.

The best strategy when it comes to the cost of healthcare overseas is to continue paying for Medicare while investing in a local country policy in the country where you intend to base your retirement.

Until next time,

Kathleen Peddicord signature

Kathleen Peddicord
Founding Publisher, Overseas Opportunity Letter

Tags: 'health care'health insurance overseasHealthcare Overseas
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Kathleen Peddicord

Kathleen Peddicord

Kathleen Peddicord has reported on opportunities for Americans to live, retire, and do business overseas for 40 years. She has traveled to more than 75 countries, invested in real estate in 24, established businesses in 7, renovated and built properties in 6, and educated her children in 5.

Kathleen has moved children, staff, enterprises, household goods, and pets from the east coast of the United States to Waterford, Ireland, then to Paris, France, and finally to Panama City, Panama, where she has based her Live And Invest Overseas business. Peddicord and her husband, Lief Simon, now divide their time between Panama and Paris.

Peddicord was a partner with Agora Publishing’s International Living group for 23 years. She opened, staffed, and operated International Living publishing and real estate marketing offices in Waterford, Ireland; Panama City, Panama; Granada, Nicaragua; Roatan, Honduras; San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Quito, Ecuador; and Paris, France. Peddicord launched Live And Invest Overseas group in 2008 and has built it into a successful multimillion-dollar business. Today, she shares her firsthand experience of expat life with more than 500,000 readers of her publications, including Overseas Opportunity Letter and Overseas Living Letter.

Kathleen has been featured often in The New York Times, MSNBC, AARP, CNN, Bloomberg, CNBC, and more and writes monthly about expat matters, international real estate, and offshore diversification for Forbes and U.S. News.

Kathleen has written several books including the memoirs “At Home In Ireland” and “At Home At Los Islotes” and her latest title “At Home Abroad,” all published by Lahardan Books. Her best-selling "How To Retire Overseas: Everything You Need To Know To Live Well (For Less) Abroad” was published by Penguin Random House in 2018 and her “Buying Real Estate Overseas For Cash Flow (And A Better Life)” was published by Wiley in August 2020.

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To Live Overseas?

Super Cheap

  • Chitré, Panama
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  • Phuket, Thailand
  • Dumaguete, The Philippines

Cheap

  • Medellin, Colombia
  • Boquete, Panama
  • Kyrenia, Cyprus
  • Hua Hin, Thailand
  • The Algarve, Portugal

Affordable

  • Valencia, Spain
  • Cascais, Portugal
  • Las Terrenas, The DR
  • Pisa, Italy
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  • Mazatlán, Mexico

Luxury

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