My brother in law is 65 and is moving to Thailand to live.

He says it's too expensive to retire in the United States.

He says Medicare won't cover him if he lives outside of the United States so he's going to stop making his medicare payments and disinroll. He says he'll either find new private insurance in Thailand or just pay cash for his medical needs.

He says once he is dropped from medicare he won't be able to get back in (should he decide to return to the US later.)

Does anyone know if this is true?

I asked him what he would do if he decided to return to the US , say, for a visit. He said he didn't know but perhaps could find some sort of travellers insurance...probably very expensive?

Does anyone out there have any knowledge about the ins and outs of Medicare for people living abroad more or less permanently?

I assume he is talking about medicare part 2 where you pay monthly premiums. That can be restored but you get hit with a penalty.

An open enrollment period from January 1 through March 31 of each year permits people age 65 or over who did not enroll or dropped their Part B Medicare coverage to sign up.

Your coverage would begin July 1. Generally, a 10 percent premium penalty will be added to the monthly premium for each year you could have enrolled but did not.