New Study regarding Medicare Portability

I am a member of Democrats Abroad and recently received a newsletter that contains this info:

In Summer 2021, Democrats Abroad launched a Medicare Portability Task Force to ensure that U.S. citizens abroad have access to their earned Medicare benefits–which unfortunately has yet to be the case. However, after much work and negotiation, we’re excited to announce that President Biden has authorized a Medicare Portability Pilot Program as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (H.R. 2471).

Specifically, the Act “encourages the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation to consider creative pilot projects that lower the cost of care among older Americans and enable individuals who retire overseas to retain and utilize their Medicare primary healthcare benefits. The pilot should consider potential cost savings involving international collaborations where the quality of care is comparable and less expensive.”

DA’s Medicare Portability Task Force Chair, Heather Stone, welcomed this legislation, saying: “This pilot program creates an opportunity to give cost savings to the government and Medicare benefits to U.S. citizens overseas. We’re confident the pilot data will bear out the economic efficacy and hope the pilot will quickly be expanded to cover more U.S. citizens around the world.”

If you are interested in this, you may want to sign up for their newsletters (even for non-Democrats). I also contacted each of my elected officials to let them know I am interested in being part of the pilot program if openings occur.

Maybe some day we WILL be able to legally use our Medicare benefits while living here.

Pam

The program would be tremendously beneficial to those U.S. citizens who are retired and living full time in Mexico.
I hope, though, that the program will be a reimbursement from Medicare to the patient because if it becomes a Medicare direct pay to Mexican health facilities, the prices charged are going to be inflated and Medicare will not save a dime.

Thank you posting that ScubaPam.