bobbi2

We are thinking long term about retirement and at the moment are living in France. We have had countless holidays in the Caribbean and have been to many of the islands but now considering maybe a relocation there. The only thing we are slightly hesitant about is the healthcare. Can anyone advise us how good or bad it is island to island, and what experiences you have had of healthcare in the Caribbean please? We are open to islands at the moment and looking at maybe Grenada, St Lucia, Antigua or Barbados. I may be wrong but I am assuming that Barbados may be a little more advanced on healthcare than the lesser developed islands. What options are there for major health concerns should they arise. Thanks in advance.

uk_grenada

The basic stuffs fine in Gda with normal gp and dental work being cheaper than the uk, if you need advanced care insurance and treatment in trinidad miami or cuba are the options. However its interesting that things like cancer hip and knee replacements, cataracts atc are dealt wit hin Gda by the surgeons, you just pay for the "parts" and local private fees which are low.

uk_grenada

However being allowed to live in the caribbean islands is a little more complex or difficult depending on your status, funds and patience...

Gordon Barlow

In the Cayman Islands (where my wife and I have lived for 37 years, and are now retired), the medical standards are high, but wildly expensive. In fact there are many things that are expensive here, but we don't pay any Income Tax (you probably knew that!), which evens the expenses out a bit. Feel free to check out my blog, and to ask me any questions about living here - either privately or on this thread.

Pistolpete2

I've just returned to the UK after almost 40 years in Bermuda and then the Caribbean (combined) and as I approach UK state pension age I've been wrestling with what to do about healthcare if/when I should feel inclined to 'return' to the Islands in some fashion.

Like anybody, I guess, I have concerns relating to TAX but when looking at health insurance packages available in St Lucia post the age of 65, along with their cost, I'm beginning to think that I'm better off remaining tax resident here and spending time in the rest of Europe and the Caribbean whilst still remaining fully eligible for the NHS and not just on an arising basis as a UK state pensioner (in the case of hospital treatment) - remembering that UK GPs are there for all-comers and not just residents.

What I have been looking at (briefly I should add) is the possibility of buying excess insurance, excess something like USD3,000 per annum, to cover major medical cover (with US hospitals excluded) at a cost of around USD4,500 per annum, with one dependant. The combined 'risk' of USD7,500 (or GBP5,000) is a lot of UK income tax at my income level - ok, so the UK doesn't have St Lucia's weather or rum for that matter. I had seen such excess cover (excess USD3,000) at around USD2,000 per annum a few years back but just can't find it today.

Indeed I've been under the knife in St Lucia and thought the standard of private medical care generally pretty good though public is a very different matter.

As for dentistry and specific GP services and support, I thought these just fine. Personally, I would probably go bare on these if private hospital were covered elsewhere somewhere. Doctor's and dentist's visits at around EC150 are not that severe to worry about when there would be deductibles and co-insurance deductions anyway, if insured.

In St Lucia, most basic surgical procedures can be carried out locally but anything major or unfathomable and proper cancer treatment is carried out upon referral to Martinique or Barbados but you would either need insurance for this or have somehow convinced somebody in form-filling that you are eligible for NHS support, being in actual 'fact' a resident in the UK. Hopefully the days are numbered for trying that (latter) one.

For me, I still have a dream that ultimately if serious old age care is needed it will be in a decent facility purpose-built in St Lucia rather than here in the UK and I might just be able to put that in place for myself and a few 'interested' like-minded others in due course. I just think St Lucia would do a better all-round kinder job of it. Something along the lines of Kittitian Hill (I wish!) (but I don't think I will be able to swing a gold club for much longer) slanted more towards the aged and in need of more tlc.