Originally Posted by Dai Cooder (Post 8599924)

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.

Originally Posted by chrisfromusa (Post 8599946)

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

Originally Posted by fatbrit (Post 8599958)

Fatbrit hasn't said a word up to this point. However, he's always happy to iterate:

Originally Posted by Dai Cooder (Post 8599924)

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.

Originally Posted by Giantaxe (Post 8600465)

Maybe, maybe not. Even someone who can afford individual insurance today may be one serious illness away from future uninsurability. And as penguinsix points out, you need a route to future eligibility for Medicare down the road.

Originally Posted by chrisfromusa (Post 8599946)

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

Originally Posted by SanDiegogirl (Post 8600101)

Just to provide some information - even if the writer is not eligible to get a visa to remain permanently in the US. My husband and I (63 and 62 respectively) pay 400 and 300 dollars a month for health insurance. (note this is not Group insurance through a company or group). We have deductibles of 5,000 per annum. So on top of our premiums, the insurance does not pay for anything - except some preventative checks - until we have used up our 5,000 dollars deductible. Since you are in your late 50's you should expect to pay in this range for any health insurance you might get. Even with the latest health reforms you will need to go through some lengthy applications with several insurance companies. If you have any pre-conditions (and these can be extremely varied - from a frozen shoulder to cancer) be prepared to be turned down.

Originally Posted by fatbrit (Post 8599958)

Fatbrit hasn't said a word up to this point. However, he's always happy to iterate:

OP, if you've got a million bucks cash or an opposite-gender love interest in the US, we'll talk. Otherwise, you're wasting your time.

Originally Posted by Giantaxe (Post 8600465)

Maybe, maybe not. Even someone who can afford individual insurance today may be one serious illness away from future uninsurability. And as penguinsix points out, you need a route to future eligibility for Medicare down the road.

Originally Posted by penguinsix (Post 8600392)

People are asking the visa question because answering it is simpler, easier, and quicker than answering your original question, and the answer to it will determine if it is worth plodding through all the other bits to your original question.

In the eyes of the visa people, the USA does not want or need you, basically. There are no retiree visas available because generally the view is a retiree has nothing to offer. They are simply going to 'take' from the economy rather than produce jobs or new technologies i.e. what immigration policy supposedly favors. (Sorry I'm being a bit harsh, trying to emphasize the point)

If you can't find a way to a visa on the relatively simple WIKI link, you are not coming to the US. Full stop. If you can find a way to a visa, then the question you asked becomes more relevant.



However, answering your question depends on a myriad of questions that you can't really answer until you are in a position to buy the actual insurance, for example:

What state are you living in?
Who is your employer?
Are you buying an individual (i.e. non-group) plan?
How much can you afford in annual deductibles?
What is your family history of cancer, obesity, smoking, etc?
What is your income?
What is your credit rating (USA)?
What pre-existing medical conditions do you have?
Do you have a route to a green card by age 60 (which means, in reality, do you have a route to the public health program for over 65s called Medicare for which there is a 5 year ban on new immigrants)?
Will you have been able to make the necessary contributions to Medicare by the time you are eligible (both by age and immigrant ban?)

You see, answering the visa question, while it may appear harder on the surface, is really the simpler one as the rules are very black and white. The shades of grey come when you try to buy insurance.

Also check out the wiki on Health Insurance

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Health_Insurance

Good luck

Originally Posted by Dai Cooder (Post 8601106)

I realised that at my age I was probably not going to be an asset to the U.S. economy .....

Originally Posted by Dai Cooder (Post 8601078)

Thanks for your helpful reply, particularly the point about retirement visas. The 90 day/holiday home option in the U.S. was something I considered before eventually relocating to France. I don't think I've dodged any specific questions; if they're put to me, I'll answer them. What I've been trying to find out is the availability and cost of health insurance for an ex. pat of my age who's in reasonably good health. I've also tried to show, without baring my bank balance, that I'm financially independent and willing to pay my way.
Thanks again.