Hi,
I’ve taken early retirement and I’m thinking about relocating from the U.K. to the U.S.A. on a permanent basis. Apart from all the other hassles, the one thing that is deterring me is the horrendous (so I've been told) cost of health insurance.
Can anybody shed any light on the most economical and legal way to get health insurance in the U.S. for people in my position?
I’m 57 and in reasonably good shape with no (I hope) underlying health issues.

I retired to the US four years ago aged 58, with no apparent health problems. My health insurance premium for what is standard cover in the US from July 1 will be $545 a month without dental cover, that is another $40 a month. This I purchase from directly from the insurance companies. The cover I have is for all medical needs but you can choose to buy insurance for just critical needs and pay for GP type care as you go.

The deductible on the insurance is $2500 and the co-insurance is $5500. So on top of the premiums I can have to pay up to another $8000 a year towards treatment.

Why are you concerned with health Insurance
the visa problem will probably kill the whole idea

You're probably correct but the visa problem was under my "other hassles" wording. My biggest concern would be being able to afford, without compromising my living standards, the health cover in the U.S., but, as the poster above demonstrates, it is possible for a person in my position to retire to the U.S.

The visa should be your biggest concern. Unless you have a lot of money...in which case you wouldn't be concerned about the cost of healthcare...you can't upsticks and retire to the US. That is unless you are a USC, married to a USC or have a close family member who is a USC.



How did Lansbury demonstrate that it's possible for you retire to the US?

Cost of living is utterly meaningless if you're not allowed to live here.

The visa is your first concern, not "other hassles".

No - he indicated that it was possible for him to retire to the US.

We don't know what "your position" is because you haven't told us.

My position is I'm 57, taken early retirement (so I'm on a pension), have a house in France (Mimizan), two houses in Wales (Newport & Cwmbran) but wouldn't mind trying the U.S.
I also wouldn't mind working (ex. teacher/Head of Faculty) again, though not necessarily in education.
I asked a question about the cost of health cover and didn't realise how much information would be needed to answer such a question. I'm fit, (surf & cycle regularly) and would probably only require cover for emergency type treatment and dentistry. My last check up/bloods at the docs revealed everything was working normally though my cholesterol was .1 above normal/average.
Any more info. needed?

But what would be the point of applying for a visa, and jumping through those hoops, if I thought I couldn't afford to live comfortably in the U.S.?
At the moment I'm sounding out/finding out what other ex. pats have been through and then I'll make a decision.

Unless you have a famous brother I suspect (based on the info you've supplied) that decision has already been made for you.

Sorry you chances are not good at good ....
His position was far better ... he is married to a US citizen ....

You need to know if you stand any chance whatsoever of getting a visa. That's not "jumping through hoops" and certainly comes nowhere near actually applying for one.

Based on the limited information you've provided, you are not eligible for a visa, and therefore need not worry yourself about the price of health care.

Lansbury demonstrated that it is possible for a guy who's taken early retirement and in good health, to be able to obtain health cover and the costs of his cover. - and you will see from my original posting, that that was my concern at this stage.

Glad to see you have a sense of humour. Caught the bro with Nick Lowe last year down in San Sebastian.

What they are trying to say is, this isn't Australia, or Europe, where you can retire here if you wanted to. The only people that are allowed to retire here without restrictions and live anywhere in the 50 states and territories of the U.S., are USCs and Green Card holders. From what I gather, you don't have either, since you seem to be dodging the questions. So then, you're only limited to 90 day visits at a time, after which you must leave the U.S. for at least a 90 day period (or more), then you can come back for another 90 days, etc. etc. etc. Other than that, you're pretty much out of luck as we do not have retirement visas here. Of course, we're just speculating that you have no visa here to begin with, based on the information you're giving us. So I'll reiterate what FatBrit and others have said, without the proper visa, health insurance is the least of your worries. No point in worrying about health insurance, if you can't live here beyond 3 months