I followed up the question and post with a poll. When the poll closed, 19% of respondents listed health care as the “most important” reason for their move and a whopping 69% rated is as “very important.” Not a single respondent indicated health care was not a consideration.



The prestigious magazine for expats and would-be expats International Living has now weighed in. Their June issue, which arrived in my mailbox yesterday, is billed as a Special Health Care Issue, and includes a number of articles dealing with health care at home and abroad. If you’re concerned about health care, this issue is jam-packed with useful information.

What really got my attention, though, was an article at the very back titled “Health Care Reform: Why All the Fuss?” by Lee Harrison. After describing the “raging health-care debate” and law change in the US, Lee wrote:

“Many of the world’s citizens are wondering what all the fuss is about. To them, we may as well be debating whether we should have public education, highways or a postal system. In other words, we’re arguing about something that they thought everyone had all along.

“And that’s a luxury that you may have, too, when you make the move abroad: the ability to take quality, affordable health care for granted.

“In fact, many expats who take up residence are motivated by their adoped country’s health-care system.”

Thank you, Lee. I don’t always agree 100% with what International Living has to say, but here I do.

Affordable, quality health care is certainly one of my biggest reasons for wanting to become an expat.

As I’ve pointed out here before, Mexico is working hard to attract the US retiree, and health care is a big selling point. Add to that the move — gaining more traction — to expand Medicare into Mexico and our nearest neighbor south of the border is poised for an influx of US baby boomer and older expats.

But Mexico isn’t the only country where expats can enjoy quality health care at affordable prices. More on health care abroad is coming in future posts, so stay tuned.

Do you have a health care story you’d like to share? Click the Comment link below.

Did you miss some of our previous posts about health care? Click here for a complete list.

Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, Canada, Malta and France all received positive comments. One poster said Japan’s was “the worst I ever experienced.” The US was mentioned favorably, but “only if you have good insurance. Prices are about 5 to 10 times the costs of France or Belgium.” This kind of anecdotal information is interesting, but not all that useful.

Of course to most expats and would-be expats, especially those of us who are approaching retirement age, health care is an important consideration in where we choose to live. What is its quality? Is it at least as good as what I’m used to? How expensive is it? How accessible is it? Will I have to be in a major city to have quality care available?

So what’s a concerned health care consumer to do?

There’s an interesting bubble chart on the Columbia University website, showing the average life expectancy and health care spending by country.

The US is way off by itself as the biggest spender. But our life expectancy (77 years) lags behind Japan (85), Switzerland, Australia, France, Canada, Norway, Spain, New Zealand, Austria, Korea, Portugal, UK, Luxembourg and Denmark, all of whom spend considerably less (around half!) than we do per capita.

The WHO (World Health Organization) has published a listing of medical care by country. Compiled in the year 2000, it’s a bit outdated, but might provide a good starting point. You can see it here.

A Few Considerations

First, I think it’s safe to assume that the care you’ll receive in rural areas will not be as up-to-date or comprehensive as the care you can receive in major cities. That’s true in the US just as much as anywhere else.

If living in a bustling metro area is not your taste, how fast and easy is transportation to those areas you’re considering? Use your common sense – if your dream retirement is on a remote beach or mountain-top retreat that’s an 8-hour drive over mostly dirt roads to get to the nearest city, that will be an issue in accessing quality health care. If it’s an hour or two over good roads, you’ll have significantly better access.

Are there hot spots of medical tourism in the country you’re considering? If so, you can be pretty well assured those doctors will speak English, have up-to-date training and use modern equipment. According to Business Week:

“The low cost and high quality of medical service is a big selling point for Singapore and Thailand, which have heavily promoted medical tourism in recent years. Hospital costs are as much as one-half what they would cost in the U.S.” Read the entire article here

Other popular medical tourism destinations include Panama, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Malaysia, South Korea, India and Israel. There are plenty of websites which discuss medical tourism, as any Google search will show.

Once you’ve narrowed down some possible destinations with health care facilities that will meet your needs, conduct your own research. When you visit the area, ask a lot of questions, find out what other expats do for health care, visit the hospitals and clinics if you can.

Ultimately, as with any other aspect of your move, you need to just do it.