USA NEWBIES AND MEDICARE

Before you get caught up in the cheap.....IMSS...or Mexican Medical insurance....I want to share some info......hopefully, members will correct my jaded opinion. Deb and I signed up with IMSS in 2006, at the same time we signed up for the Allianz Cadillac plan. After a year we dropped IMSS, not that they were bad....but, verging on bankruptcy, plus we didn't speak enough Spanish to work through the system. Allianz in 2009 was costing us 60,000 pesos annually , plus the 1st 25,000 pesos per incident. Since we never met the minimum our annual cost was running 125,000 pesos annually.



We dropped Allianz, signed up for Medicare, with Health net supplemental......free. Planned on using Medicare as backup. We decided to buy a home in Casa Grande, AZ, and use Medicare. Then the shit hit the fan.....me terminal, tried to use Health Net, only to discover.... free is NADA.....after 2 months I was out of pocket 2 grand, had to get referrals for everything, copays in 60 days cost nearly 2 grand. Turns out, Health Net for my area has a $6500.00 cap. My cardiologist called Health Net for a rush eco cardiogram and was denied....takes a letter. I immediately called my agent, cancelled Health Net and signed up with Blue Cross, Blue shield. Monthly cost $155.00, no referrals, no deductible, no copays. Point is cheaper is never better.

I do not trust insurance companies, I believe the insurance companies in Mexico will......eventually drop or not renew insurance for USA PATS over the age of 75 or 80.......so then you scramble for coverage from Medicare. I can't imagine what we would be going thru had I been diagnosed in Mexico, making trips to GDL 3 days per week for 6 months.

Just my opinion, and am happy I have Medicare... Please think it thru, and consider all possibilities.

Thank you for sharing your hard-earned experience with us, Jim.
As always, sending good thoughts to you and Deb.

Lady Otter Latté wrote:Thank you for sharing your hard-earned experience with us, Jim.
As always, sending good thoughts to you and Deb.

Thank You Lady O?

More trivia.....I have been working to make sure Deb has a hassle free life once I kick the bucket! Just discovered that while I am Deb's sole support.......since she is not old enough to receive Social Security, she will receive mine @ approx. 80%.....so she takes a $380.00 m0nth hit, when she needs it the most. Till she is 62.

It really sucks.

Having been privy to private conversations with Jim throughout his process virtually from the very start, a few comments on some aspects some may want to consider:

1) When the tumor in Jim's heart broke loose and decided on a "road trip", he had quick access to a fully equipped hospital in Casa Grande.
2) He has been lucky enough to be diagnosed by an experienced Oncologist right from the start. How much searching or checking before one finds same in Guadalajara?
3) His chemo regimen of once a week requires a blood test the day before each chemo session. If this was Guadalajara, it would require at least two trips into Guadalajara each week. Some chemo protocols require multiple sessions each week and how would that fit into your capabilities?

Given what happened with Jim, I might suggest that some people might not be so willing to kick various aspects of Medicare to the curb just because they have moved to Mexico given the possibility of getting diagnosed with cancer?

Right on and thanks, Neil.

Check w/SS, I believe she can collect survivors benefits at age 60.

Jim W wrote:More trivia.....I have been working to make sure Deb has a hassle free life once I kick the bucket!    Just discovered that while I am Deb's sole support.......since she is not old enough to receive Social Security, she will receive mine @ approx. 80%.....so she takes a $380.00 m0nth hit, when she needs it the most.   Till she is 62.

Jim,when I kick the bucket my wife won't be eligble to recieve any SS survivor benefits due to her not being a US citizen and not having lived in the US,seeing as how I paid into SS all my working life that doesn't seem fair at all.

Chris:

But look at it as a donation to prop up the system!

viajero wrote:

Jim W wrote:More trivia.....I have been working to make sure Deb has a hassle free life once I kick the bucket!    Just discovered that while I am Deb's sole support.......since she is not old enough to receive Social Security, she will receive mine @ approx. 80%.....so she takes a $380.00 m0nth hit, when she needs it the most.   Till she is 62.

Jim,when I kick the bucket my wife won't be eligble to recieve any SS survivor benefits due to her not being a US citizen and not having lived in the US,seeing as how I paid into SS all my working life that doesn't seem fair at all.

Chris, YA GOT my curiosity UP. There must be a way given the length of your marriage.....how long?......to get your marriage recognized by USA? I don't have the answer.....thank you Mr. Google! to get her recognized....probably with stacks of paper work?    

Jim,Lupe and I have been married for 8 years.I spoke directly with the SSA on a couple of occasions regarding this,they were pretty clear about the eligibility requirements,it does not seem fair that they would deny Lupe my survivor benefits but that's just the way it is.It sucks because I paid into that system all my working life.
The US does recognize our marriage,which allows me to file joint tax returns.

i have already collected more than i put in my cpp-haven't you? and if not i'm sure you will before you croak senor viagra.

Viajero, you said in a previous post your wife could not receive survivor benefits because she was not a U.S. citizen and had never lived in the U.S. Does that mean the spouse must BOTH be a U.S. citizen AND have lived in the States? Or, does having lived in the States at some time also qualify them? I know several people married to Mexican citizens who believe their spouses will be eligible for survivor benefits.

Pedro wrote:i have already collected more than i put in my cpp-haven't you? and if not i'm sure you will before you croak senor viagra.

I've got another 7 years to go before I'm eligible for SS,and that's assuming that they don't raise the minimum age requirements.

Lady Otter Latté wrote:Viajero, you said in a previous post your wife could not receive survivor benefits because she was not a U.S. citizen and had never lived in the U.S. Does that mean the spouse must BOTH be a U.S. citizen AND have lived in the States? Or, does having lived in the States at some time also qualify them?  I know several people married to Mexican citizens who believe their spouses will be eligible for survivor benefits.

It's been a while since I looked into it but I don't think the spouse has to be a US citizen but they did have to have lived in the US for a certain number of years.There is a SSA representative at the consulate in Guadalajara that you can ask,or you can go to their website.

Thank you for the information.

David wrote:Check w/SS, I believe she can collect survivors benefits at age 60.

She can David, however my read is she will get approx. 80% of what I am receiving.

Claro.  Then she gets hers at 62.

David wrote:Claro.  Then she gets hers at 62.

Or continues with mine as it is higher. We are trying to find out if she can convert to hers @ 66 when it would be higher. The SS system is very complicated for widows/widowers. What happens when they remarry for example.

viajero wrote:

Pedro wrote:i have already collected more than i put in my cpp-haven't you? and if not i'm sure you will before you croak senor viagra.

I've got another 7 years to go before I'm eligible for SS,and that's assuming that they don't raise the minimum age requirements.

Chris, LMAO, US Social Security has nothing to do with the Canadian program.