Health care is one of the most important factors to consider if you move abroad. This is a hot topic right now, especially for the 40 million Americans who can’t afford health insurance in the U.S.
We’ve got you covered: Learn where to find the best-quality, most affordable health care in the world from our expert expats, who share their overseas health care experiences.
To get you started we’re offering a FREE REPORT – How Americans Save $15,000 a Year on Healthcare… by Looking Abroad – which we’ll e-mail to you when you sign up for International Living’s free e-letter.
Simply enter your email address below to receive the report and your IL Postcards.
When you think of an island in Southeast Asia, you probably think of beautiful beaches and coconut palms swaying in the breeze, but not world-class healthcare. I’ll admit, my husband, Mark, and I chose to move to Penang, in Malaysia, for a host of reasons, and none of them was healthcare. We moved here when we were 48 and 39 respectively, so major healthcare issues weren’t on our minds...
Folks thinking of a move abroad often wonder about healthcare: They frequently ask about its quality, prices, and prescriptions. My wife Abbe and I asked these very questions when we considered moving to Panama four years ago. We finally moved here in 2016. Since then, we have both received excellent medical care, at very reasonable prices. We’ve tried it here, in all sorts of ways, and we've been pleased with the experience each time...
Time and again, I get asked the question, “Can I take my U.S. Medicare coverage with me when I move overseas?” It’s a simple question, but the answer is a little more complex. In effect, the answer is: Yes. But to figure out how, we need to look at things in a bit more detail...
"I was very happy with the whole process overall,” says expat Patricia Barovetto, 69, of her free hip replacement surgery through Mexico’s public healthcare plan, Seguro Popular. When the Davis, California, native moved to Guanajuato, Mexico, in August 2015, “I had no health insurance at all,” she says...
There’s lots to love about Thailand— its beauty and budget-friendliness are just two of its many benefits. Social life is easy, with friendly locals and expats at every turn. But what about healthcare? I’m still a practicing emergency physician in New York State. So when I needed medical care in Thailand, I was able to evaluate its quality both as a patient and as a medical professional.
When my wife Vivien and I first began looking into an overseas retirement, we looked everywhere for information. We wanted to know about the costs, climate, safety, how easy would it be to make friends, would we be bored…the list went...
My local dentist in Penang, Malaysia, completed his post-graduate training in Dallas, Texas. He is an honorary member of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry. With credentials like this, you know you’re dealing with a professional.
When Rob Evans’s retirement severance package ran out, decent healthcare for him and his wife Jeni was going to cost $18,000 a year in the U.S. “We simply couldn’t afford it. If we chose to stay there, I would have to get another job just to pay for healthcare,” says Rob.
“Our lifestyle here is so much more tranquilo than it would be if we were back home,” says expat Lorelei Kusin, 57. After waking to the sound of chattering birds, Lorelei and husband James enjoy a smoothie using local fresh produce, such as fresh coconut water, mango, pineapple, guanábana, and bananas.
As well as the great weather, thriving expat scene, and low-cost living, excellent, affordable healthcare is a big reason many folks retire to Ecuador. In Cuenca, the country’s main expat hub, a recent report on expats found that 75% cited quality healthcare services as their number-one reason for living here.