She's fit and well, if she gets sick I'll ship her back:-)

That might be a bit tricky if she has a heart attack and is in intensive care.

Such an event can run up a medical bill of $100,000 within three days and $250,000 by the time the patient is discharged. The ambulance to take you to hospital can alone cost $15,000 or more - the husband of a BE member was billed that much a couple of years ago when he had a heart attack.

That was for a life-line helicopter was it not? Hardly your typical ambulance

Was it? If so, I didn't know that, or didn't remember. That said, if you're having a heart attack you don't get any choice in how you are delivered to hospital.

My wife's uncle had a heart attack two days ago, but had the good foresight to have it while he was visiting the hospital for an outpatient appointment. ..... He was given a triple bypass.

So if she's travelling on a tourist visa and has travel insurance, she'd still have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars if she had a medical emergency?

It would depend on the insurance policy. Travel policies have a cap, and the recommended cap for travel to the US is much higher than other countries. Because of the cost of treatment for a heart attack, I wouldn't recommend a policy with less than $500,000 of coverage.

In any case I was responding to you saying you'd "ship her back", which I took to mean after she had moved here, because then she'd need "local" insurance, not travel insurance. She could reasonably expect to pay $1,000/mth in insurance premiums as a retired resident not (yet) eligible for Medicare, and potentially a similar amount of out of pocket medical costs even if she did not have a heart attack or stroke. After joining Medicare her costs would probably be cut in half ... ish.

A lot of food for thought 😱 Thanks for the info Pulaski 👊🏼

Yes it is...very serious food for thought. A couple of years ago I had diverticulitis which resulted in surgery... Approx $100K. My doctor told me I wasn't allowed to fly until after surgery...a month after surgery.

If your mum can't pay...then her sponsor is responsible for the bill.

IMO bringing an elderly relative to live in the US is not something to be taken lightly.

I get what you're saying, but it's not just "an elderly relative" it's my mom, so I guess I will just have to fit the bill, or plead mercy with one of my old bosses to help me out!

I realise that. We lived in the US for almost 20 years...our daughter is now in Canada. It's much harder for us to get PR in Canada than it is for your mum in the US. What I am trying to say is...I do know what an emotional issue it is for parents and children wishing to be together.

I don't know what you are expecting your boss to do.

Edit: Try searching the US forums for past threads on this subject. You may find useful info.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/search.php

Actually things have changed and I do not think the system realises it has, or has a way of noting or measuring it.

In other places I have seen this discussed as effectively you can bring over someone with serious medical issues and get major medical treatment at very little or no cost through OCare.

Very unlikely a sponsor would be liable.

I assumed her mother was not that old, certainly when people get in their dotage I can see it being an issue, but no different to say retiring to the Costas.

Really...I thought the sponsor is liable for any debts. Well that's good news for the OP.

My old bosses are Billionaires and if on friendly terms with a couple, so if I was desperate I'm sure they would help me out, that's all I meant by that, I should've explained myself better.

And yes Boiler you're right, she's only 60, so not old yet. 60 is the new 30 after all 😉

Only eligible for ACA once they have status (immigrant visa or greencard). I believe many people are concerned about the 5 years back and forth on a B2 or vwp leading up to that point.