Medicare Coverage In Chiang Mai

[mcgriffith]

Yup, and 2.45% of $180,000 was $4410....that year alone. I averaged over 100K for the previous 5+ years.

I really did pay thousands a year in Medicare deductions, over a 15 year period.

Like I said, shoulda got a govvamint job! (sic)

Not crying about it....just wondering where all the money went?

[PeaceBlondie]

Yup, and 2.45% of $180,000 was $4410....that year alone. I averaged over 100K for the previous 5 years.

I really did pay thousands a year in Medicare deductions, over a 15 year period.

Like I said, shoulda got a govvamint job! (sic)

Not crying about it....just wondering where all the money went?

Sorry, mcg, I forgot there was no salary cap for you or Michael Eisner, on the Medicare tax. If you had joined the federal govt. when I did, you might have ended up paying for Medicare senselessly, as I did. Where did your money go? They lent it and they will never get the money back. The Medicare fund may be bankrupt before you die.

If it is any consolation, you can start drawing your SS pension at age 62, but don't ask how they screw you when they compute your pension.

[farangene]

I had a friend who was living in Thailand for several years but continued to maintain his residence, banking etc in the US. He was over 65 and paid both Medicare A and B.

He went back to the US for a visit and then returned to Th. During his first few weeks back, he experienced some med problems requiring an operation, hosp stay, follow-up, etc. He sent the bills to medicare for reimbursement after he read that he was covered by medicare for med expenses during the first 6 weeks outside of the US.

About a year later, medicare reimbursed about 70-80% of his medical bills from Th.

So, there is some coverage in foreign countries, you just have to be sure to get ill in the first 6 weeks after a return from the US.

[mcgriffith]

Thanks for that, FG!

[Mapguy]

I knew I shoulda gone to the Nam....had I survived, I'd have had health insurance!

Somehow, I'll muddle through this.

It does seem unfair (I know fairs have clowns and cotton candy) that I paid thousands, yes thousands of dollars a year into Medicare deductions, that I will never see a dime of benefit as a citizen, just because I'm living overseas.

" I shouda gone to Nam." What does that mean?

Yes, I am sure. Big Mc, that you will muddle through. What's your problem?

My apologies, but I do not sympathize with vets. See below.

First, I, like you apparently, spent thousands of dollars over the tax years in America to pay for social insurance programs, but I knew that such dollars were not an investment but a contribution to a social safety net for people who can not cope for themselves for reasons beyond their control. I doubt you are one of those.

Programs --- like social security, Medicare, and Medicaid in the USA --- were not designed for those who can and should fend for themselves. The rules say that you sometimes get certain benefits even if you don't stay in the country. Very good deal I'd say! You made choices. You came to Thailand.

Deal with it! Or, like some have urged, just write your American home state or committee chair senator or representative in Congress, especially in an election year like this one. This is when the letters count, folks!! To help is called valuable "constituent service" when politicians need votes in a narrow election. Of course, sending along a re-election donation won't hurt! Have you sent one to your senator from Hawaii, McG? Start at USD1000. He is not a romantic!

The hugely regretable thing is that Americans at large see these benefits as "rights" rather than as "safety nets." The result is that politicians have increasingly pandered to such sentiments.

Just look at the news today about American politics! Social security, Medicare and Medicaid are rarely specific issues in this presidential campaign --- that is VERY dangerous political territory to tread. But look at the political pandering to save the jerks who wanted "something for nothing" in financing housing beond their means !! Get real!!

I believe that what I have said is also fairly reflective of other Anglophone country expats who inhabit this site, most countries they come from have more expansive social service programs than those in the USA.

Back to today's headlines!! Never mind that the banks were helping such Americans fulfill so many childish home-owning dreams! The banks' job is to make profits for shareholders, many of them mortgage holders themselves through ownership of direct shares or through pension plans! The jerks didn't get that! Truly, to exascebate matters, there were too many "masters-of-the-universe" hot shots --- or con men --- wanting to make a commission on marketing mortgages in a "hot market." Many of these "mortgage brokers" did not wear three-piece suits and work on Wall Street (or in the City in London, for that fact). That still does not relieve the stupidity of those who wanted too much when they simply couldn't afford it. The idiots who thought heaven could be reached through a credit card or a "magic mortgage" are at fault! Or aren't you into individual rsponsibility?

Not all Americans are idiots. The conventional market for mortgages remains quite sound altough there are "shock wave effects" from the general stupidity. Don't get too swayed by the headlines these days in America or elsewhere--- like UK, Ireland and other places. The unfortunate thing in America is that the crisis happens just before an election year, and politicians are scrambling to be on the "voters' side." Oy! That means bad law!!

In Europe, in many places among many people, there is a certain "personal laziness" in feeling that many social service programs are an " inalienable right" with no particular obligation for individual responsibility. Do you think that makes people stronger somehow?

Precedents? Tulip craze in Holland. South Seas Island Bubble. Et cetera. The more things change, the more they remain the same! If you don't know about such events, blame your teachers! Or simply look them up. I am sure they can be Googled.

Not to waste a post! Just to annoy another active constituency of TV, I have similar sentiments about the war veteran benefits of America. I was in a war. I was drafted. I was wounded. Big deal! That was my duty! I do not feel that I have to go around claiming benefits forty years later. But I must say that the $250 for burial and a grave marker are nice, except that I hope that my ashes are spread in the wind, dust to dust. I have instructed my nearest and dearest not to bother calling the Veterans Administration.

Might I hear back from some TV people? Responses are welcome!

[mcgriffith]

Yes, I am fully aware the monies paid in to Medicare are a safety net. Never mind that the monies collected are not paid to me, an expat. I can certainly deal with it.

But the final indignity is that I, like many others, paid many times over Medicare deductions, for private health insurance. I personally never had a major claim, no pre-existing conditions, etc. Our EU brethren are light-years ahead of us on this.

[Mapguy]

Yup, and 2.45% of $180,000 was $4410....that year alone. I averaged over 100K for the previous 5 years.

I really did pay thousands a year in Medicare deductions, over a 15 year period.

Like I said, shoulda got a govvamint job! (sic)

Not crying about it....just wondering where all the money went?

Sorry, mcg, I forgot there was no salary cap for you or Michael Eisner, on the Medicare tax. If you had joined the federal govt. when I did, you might have ended up paying for Medicare senselessly, as I did. Where did your money go? They lent it and they will never get the money back. The Medicare fund may be bankrupt before you die.

If it is any consolation, you can start drawing your SS pension at age 62, but don't ask how they screw you when they compute your pension.

I can not agree with PB. I think PB's bit is a cheap shot.

I was not screwed by the Social Security Administration. Not at all. Administratively, in fact, I was greatly pleased with the knowledge and assistance of people I dealt with. I have never had a problem with the Social Security Administration of the USA nor the Department of Health and Human Services.

I really do not understand the carping about government services. I have never worked for the government (except in uniform), and I am not a "Holly Go Lightly." Sure, sometimes (not my experience) you run into someone who doesn't do his or her job as well as needed, but --- to be absolutely honest --- I have been very much assisted beyond my knowledge of the law or individual situations by the "faceless" government bureaucracy. Sorry, but I do not buy the "Bureaucrats are out to screw me" belief.

And this was not paid announcement by your friendly local consulate, or whatever!

Which reminds me..... Talk about being screwed more than by your average songtao driver! How about USD30 for a signature on a frickin' signature on a residence certificate or income letter for visa renewal!! Now, you are really talking about painful unwanted penetration! Isn't that called rape?!

Otherwise, can we talk with some folks who did so well about a small loan?

Edited July 28, 2008 by Mapguy

[dclaryjr]

When you move to Thailand, her nice Medicare/TFL coverage will end, and you and she will fall under Tricare Standard rules in terms of coverage, deductibles, and co-pays -- tho' she'll be officially under TFL, thus still paying the monthly Medicare B premium (currently $96.80, but promising to rise substantially). You too will get to pay when you turn 65.

So we both pay the part B premium, but only get STANDARD coverage. Ugh--that sure pales in comparison to the $460 a year I'm paying for PRIME (and I protest those payments by writing "for my Free Medical Coverage" on the checks). But I guess it's going to beat anything I'll be able to get commercially when I'm 65 and she's 71.

I appreciate the info, Jim (u2 Viceroy)!

[Mapguy]

Yes, I am fully aware the monies paid in to Medicare are a safety net. Never mind that the monies collected are not paid to me, an expat. I can certainly deal with it.

But the final indignity is that I, like many others, paid many times over Medicare deductions, for private health insurance. I personally never had a major claim, no pre-existing conditions, etc. Our EU brethren are light-years ahead of us on this.

Well, I agree that I, too, wince from time to time.

I have been fortunate. I have never had big claims to make and so forth. But I am not so certain that our EU brethern are light years ahead of us (meaning Americans). There are social conditions that have to be considered country by country. That is tough to do. The Scandinavian countries are famous for their social service, but the situation is very different in a country like Denmark both in the demographic nature of the population and in the overall tax rate, which is truly horrific! In Norway, to pick another example, they anticipate running out of North Sea oil and gas reserves in the foreseeable future, a fact that might force some modifications in their generous plans. Sweden has already undergone some "budget adjustments."

Otherwise, as a broader comment, I am not waving the flag when I say that the USA still takes in a remarkable number of people of many colors and of little monetary wealth that the Scandinavian are quite careful to politely reject or take in in very, very, very limited numbers. In many ways, I think this is to their detriment. Ultimately, America will prosper because of this openness (as, similarly, will the UK and Australia, to add a couple of other countries).

[PeaceBlondie]

Mapguy, trying to get back more on topic (but hey, that was a great midnight rant) ....

I did not mean that the SSA, as a government agency, screws us over when they compute the formula. CONGRESS screws higher-earning taxpayers like mcgriffith and my sister, when your retirement benefits are computed. Bureaucrats are slaves to the law. Congress makes the laws that screw you. The government is the enemy. The medicare taxes I paid from 1988 to 2002 were wasted.