If I get a retirement extension in Thailand, do I lose Medicare in the States?

[RikDao]

I recently read that I would lose all benefits in the US once I get a retirement extension here in Thailand. I know Medicare is not valid here, but I plan to go back and forth and I still own property there, I'm still a citizen there, etc.

Anybody know for sure? Thanks for your input.

[wayned]

No, you will not loose your medicare benefits in the US.

Edited July 9, 2014 by wayned

[RikDao]

No, you will not loose your medicare benefits in the US.

Thanks. It didn't make sense that I would.

[pianoman]

You continue to be qualifed for the Free (Ya, Right) part of Medicare, I beleive it is the "Part A"... But to have the "Part B" and or Medicade which is still available but not usefull outside of the US, they will continue to take out the monthly payments from your Soc. Sec, ... It is easy to contact the US Dept. of Social Security in Manilla for any questions... They handle all claims and or questions for US Expats living in the Aisa area...

Pianoman

[wayned]

Both part "A" and "B" can not be used outside of the US or some US territories and it's a long flight to go to the doctor!

[RikDao]

Thanks for all the replies.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[NancyL]

If you want to return to the U.S. to use Medicare, no one in the U.S. will check to see if you have a retirement extension. But, you could encounter problems with some of the Part B plans if you're not resident in the area of service for so many months each year.

We found it impossible to sign up for Part B for Hubby when he turned 65 since he hadn't been to the U.S. for five years, we no longer owned property there and he had no plans to return just to set up Supplemental Medicare service. Yet, it would be nice to have full Medicare coverage if he decided to return to the U.S. As it is now, it's unclear if he'll have full coverage upon immediate return to the U.S. or would have to wait until the next enrollment period. And the option of returning for an expensive operation and then coming back to Thailand isn't open to him.

Edited July 10, 2014 by NancyL

[pmarlin]

If you want to return to the U.S. to use Medicare, no one in the U.S. will check to see if you have a retirement extension. But, you could encounter problems with some of the Part B plans if you're not resident in the area of service for so many months each year.

We found it impossible to sign up for Part B for Hubby when he turned 65 since he hadn't been to the U.S. for five years, we no longer owned property there and he had no plans to return just to set up Supplemental Medicare service. Yet, it would be nice to have full Medicare coverage if he decided to return to the U.S. As it is now, it's unclear if he'll have full coverage upon immediate return to the U.S. or would have to wait until the next enrollment period. And the option of returning for an expensive operation and then coming back to Thailand isn't open to him.

I turned 65 while living here in Thailand and had no problem signing up for Part B. I had to so I could keep my Retired military health care active. TRICARE Overseas/senior. They cover 70% of my medical care here.

[NancyL]

If you want to return to the U.S. to use Medicare, no one in the U.S. will check to see if you have a retirement extension. But, you could encounter problems with some of the Part B plans if you're not resident in the area of service for so many months each year.

We found it impossible to sign up for Part B for Hubby when he turned 65 since he hadn't been to the U.S. for five years, we no longer owned property there and he had no plans to return just to set up Supplemental Medicare service. Yet, it would be nice to have full Medicare coverage if he decided to return to the U.S. As it is now, it's unclear if he'll have full coverage upon immediate return to the U.S. or would have to wait until the next enrollment period. And the option of returning for an expensive operation and then coming back to Thailand isn't open to him.

I turned 65 while living here in Thailand and had no problem signing up for Part B. I had to so I could keep my Retired military health care active. TRICARE Overseas/senior. They cover 70% of my medical care here.

Yes, I mis-remembered. Hubby did indeed sign up for Part B -- it was the Medigap and drug coverage that he wasn't able to get. Please ignore my previous post.

[wwest5829]

Both part "A" and "B" can not be used outside of the US or some US territories and it's a long flight to go to the doctor!

I think Guam was the closest place to use US Medicare, it appears. Think we would need to get patched up and high tail it stateside if there were anything serious, unless you are fortunate enough to have independent health insurance coverage here.

[BarnicaleBob]

When I turned 65 I took the AARP Medicare Complete plan which costs the same as medicare but has a few more benefits, one being it covers you while traveling overseas for the first 90 days of your trip only and then only for emergencies. But that is better than nothing, at least you can get patched up until you can get back Stateside if something happens within the first 90 days. I go back once a year to get all my major exams and needed care. I've had two knee replacement surgeries, and several smaller things on my visits to the States over the past few years and so far I've had no problems with it

[oneday]

The bad thing about Medicare "Part B" is you need to sign up for it the minute you are eligible at 65. If you do not then you are penalized 10% for each year you do not sign up. For instance if you sign up when you are 66:

The normal premium for everyone who signed up at 65 is $100 (example only) for a given year, then if you sign up at 66 you would have to pay $110 while everyone else who signed up at 65 pays $100. Wait until you are 67 and now you are penalized 20%.

I assume this is because the older you are the more likelihood you will be a greater financial strain on the system and you had not paid your fair share into the system from the age of 65 so the government is getting their just due from you by charging you more money.

[Suradit69]

I turned 65 while living here in Thailand and had no problem signing up for Part B. I had to so I could keep my Retired military health care active. TRICARE Overseas/senior. They cover 70% of my medical care here.

Yes, I mis-remembered. Hubby did indeed sign up for Part B -- it was the Medigap and drug coverage that he wasn't able to get. Please ignore my previous post.

While it's always interesting & entertaining to read through the somewhat contradictory and unclear accounts of some individuals, you'd almost always do better to get information from organizations that actually know what they're talking about. Google is your friend.

http://www.ssa.gov/retire2/justmedicare.htm

http://www.aaro.org/medicare

http://americansabroad.org/issues/healthcare/general-information-about-medicare/

[Searat7]

I am in the USA for annual visit and am in the process of signing up for Medicare. While it's best to sign up for Part B right away to avoid 10% a year surcharge I also discovered that my cost is higher because of my income...will have to pay $142 a month. Medigap does have 3 plans which cover the first 60 days of foreign travel for healthcare emergency only (not 90 days as noted above). The Medigap supplement plan must be started within 6 months of your Part B date or they don't have to accept your pre-existing conditions when you apply later. Drug coverage is separate and I think there is an advantage to starting this early too. I think everything will cost more than I presently pay for health insurance in Thailand through April Mobilite and I am thinking of moving back to USA next year.

[cariden]

if you have an address in the usa you should be able to sign up for supplemental part d coverage.. friends house relative's house.. i would think you would just need an address, no one is going to check it.

[thaigold]

Kinda strange isn't it? I'm a US citizen that paid into the US SSI and medicare for 50 years, but it's useless overseas. My Euro friends in my condo have full fall back medical care overseas, but not US citizens. In fact, I have some US military friends stationed on Guam that refer to the US Naval Hospital there as a butcher shop. They come to Thailand for salvation.

[Suradit69]

Kinda strange isn't it? I'm a US citizen that paid into the US SSI and medicare for 50 years, but it's useless overseas. My Euro friends in my condo have full fall back medical care overseas, but not US citizens. In fact, I have some US military friends stationed on Guam that refer to the US Naval Hospital there as a butcher shop. They come to Thailand for salvation.

"My Euro friends in my condo have full fall back medical care overseas ..."

If you suggesting they can get medical treatment overseas and their governments will reimburse them, that sounds doubtful. I haven't paid that close attention to discussions of such things, but I thought the British were able to get treated under the NHS under some conditions if they returned to UK, but I don't recall any of them saying they could be treated in Thailand and reimbursed by the UK government.

Can you be more explicit about which countries and under what circumstances? It sounds like something some of the Scandinavian countries might do, but I've not read anything specifically about retirees from any European countries getting medical coverage while staying in Thailand.

I do get US Social Security payments, but since I expected that I would retire overseas I never really planned on getting Medicare. Fortunately my US employer pays 80% of all medical, dental, eye expenses including prescription drugs for the balance of my life as a part of my retirement program.

if you have an address in the usa you should be able to sign up for supplemental part d coverage.. friends house relative's house.. i would think you would just need an address, no one is going to check it.

Not sure about this. I use my Thai address for Social Security, but payments are made into my Chicago bank. I would have thought your SS address and Medicare address would have to be the same. SS sends me a form to return each year to sign, confirming my address & a few other things (and probably to figure out if I'm still alive). They make it clear that you could have your payments suspended or otherwise take a hit if you're supplying them with false information.

While it's true that you may not ever be found out, if you are caught and lose your SS payments for 6 months or whatever, that could leave a major dent in your budget and also mean that you would attract even more attention in future.

Civil Monetary Penalty (CMP) Program

Federal law gives us the authority to impose a CMP against beneficiaries or their representative payees when our investigators find evidence that they lied to, or withheld facts from, the government. We can impose up to $5,000 for each time a person lied or withheld facts. And, we can also make the person repay up to twice the amount of the benefits that they received fraudulently.

http://oig.ssa.gov/newsroom/blog/2012/08/pricey-penalties-social-security-fraud

Edited July 10, 2014 by Suradit69

[smotherb]

I turned 65 while living here in Thailand and had no problem signing up for Part B. I had to so I could keep my Retired military health care active. TRICARE Overseas/senior. They cover 70% of my medical care here.

Yes, I mis-remembered. Hubby did indeed sign up for Part B -- it was the Medigap and drug coverage that he wasn't able to get. Please ignore my previous post.

While it's always interesting & entertaining to read through the somewhat contradictory and unclear accounts of some individuals, you'd almost always do better to get information from organizations that actually know what they're talking about. Google is your friend.

http://www.ssa.gov/retire2/justmedicare.htm

http://www.aaro.org/medicare

http://americansabroad.org/issues/healthcare/general-information-about-medicare/

Suradit69, you are being far too logical, TV posters would rather read fiction

[CMBob]

When I turned 65 I took the AARP Medicare Complete plan which costs the same as medicare but has a few more benefits, one being it covers you while traveling overseas for the first 90 days of your trip only and then only for emergencies. But that is better than nothing, at least you can get patched up until you can get back Stateside if something happens within the first 90 days. I go back once a year to get all my major exams and needed care. I've had two knee replacement surgeries, and several smaller things on my visits to the States over the past few years and so far I've had no problems with it

While we're a bit off topic from the OP, it's possible that you might have a bit of a problem some day depending on how long annually you are outside of the US. I researched the issue fairly heavily last year when I became medicare eligible.

What you have is a medicare advantage plan (one where you get all your coverage from the private provider and the US reimburses the provider for the Parts A and B costs). Every single advantage plan I looked at required me to be a resident of the US for 6 months a year and, since I live in Thailand 8+ months a year, I was not eligible. Given AARP may have no clue where you are, perhaps you'll never have a problem.

You're correct that a medicare advantage plan (whether from AARP or others) will cover emergency care overseas during the first 90 days (actually, I think it's 60 days) you are out of the country; however, if you read what all the advantage plans as to what that really covers, it's a bit more restrictive than other health plans (i.e., it has to be really an emergency).

Plus, for those of us US citizens who live outside the US for 6+ months a year, one might wonder if it's worth it to pay for 12 months when coverage is fairly non-existent for most of the year.

[Way off topic: If one is not a resident of the US or a state for at least 6+ months a year, wouldn't it be cheaper for the insurance company because it's less likely you'll present claims? If so, then why the heck would one of the basic eligibility requirements be that you must live in the US at least 6 months a year? Makes no sense to me.]

Edited July 10, 2014 by CMBob

[Bob1million]

We have medicare in Australia, I have been in Thailand for about 2 years and my Medicare card expired about 8 months ago. If I return to Australia for any Medical would I still be covered.

All replies welcome..

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I've never heard of any connection or relationship between one's Medicare eligibility and having a retirement extension of stay in Thailand.

The U.S. authorities have no way of knowing, or reason to know, if the OP may have or obtain a Thai retirement extension.

However, as noted above, being outside the U.S. may mean that you won't be able to obtain treatment from doctors outside the U.S., and there may be limits on your ability to enroll in certain Medicare related plans due to lack of physical residency.

[NancyL]

As I recall in researching Hubby's options when he turned age 65, it would have be nice for him to enroll in a Medicare Medical Savings Account. He has few health care needs. While he has an annual health check-up, he needs no prescription drugs -- no high BP, diabetes, cholesterol, etc. It looked like a MSA would have been a good way for him to save for the future. But that option wasn't open to him since we are overseas 365 days/year and our U.S. address is a commercial mail forwarding service, not the home address of a friend or relative.

[pmarlin]

I turned 65 while living here in Thailand and had no problem signing up for Part B. I had to so I could keep my Retired military health care active. TRICARE Overseas/senior. They cover 70% of my medical care here.

Yes, I mis-remembered. Hubby did indeed sign up for Part B -- it was the Medigap and drug coverage that he wasn't able to get. Please ignore my previous post.

While it's always interesting & entertaining to read through the somewhat contradictory and unclear accounts of some individuals, you'd almost always do better to get information from organizations that actually know what they're talking about. Google is your friend.

http://www.ssa.gov/retire2/justmedicare.htm

http://www.aaro.org/medicare

http://americansabroad.org/issues/healthcare/general-information-about-medicare/

Suradit69, you are being far too logical, TV posters would rather read fiction

Just what part above is fiction other than your reply. Any body can go to a web site but personal experience is far more valuable and detail real world situations. That is why we have forums for people to share.

Edited July 11, 2014 by pmarlin

[eusabai]

No, you do not lose your Medicare. I have the annually renewable "Retirement" type visa and returned to the US for three months of radiation and other medical treatments in 2013, Medicare paid the same as if I had been residing in the US. All you need is your SS card number and positive ID. Eusabai (Gordon Bailey)

[smotherb]

Just what part above is fiction other than your reply. Any body can go to a web site but personal experience is far more valuable and detail real world situations. That is why we have forums for people to share.

You are more than welcome to base your decisions on what people say are their real-life experiences. However, I will continue to base mine on what official documentation says. Surely, you may get some ideas from the reports of others, but unless you do it by the book, you stand a good chance to lose out.

[thailand49]

When I turned 65 I took the AARP Medicare Complete plan which costs the same as medicare but has a few more benefits, one being it covers you while traveling overseas for the first 90 days of your trip only and then only for emergencies. But that is better than nothing, at least you can get patched up until you can get back Stateside if something happens within the first 90 days. I go back once a year to get all my major exams and needed care. I've had two knee replacement surgeries, and several smaller things on my visits to the States over the past few years and so far I've had no problems with it

I've heard of a plan that allows for coverage when overseas maybe this is one of them?

This is just a personal opinion and not a slam on anyone! I can never understand why some who live overseas have the need to tell the government that they are living or retired overseas? I too have a retirement visa and do not see myself as being that important to the government to declare this?

Basically what they do not know will not hurt them!

Example: My brother declares he is retired here and each year file his taxes claiming his kids here as dependents? So he gets a few bucks back more than I but he runs into more problems with the government like being audit and such.. to me is it really worth it!

I'm one that do not feel I'm Entitled to these benefits no matter what these <deleted> politicians say! They force me to put into the system and at the end I will get these benefits and I did? Now I suppose to feel I'm entitled? I will do my research now so when I'm on Medicare get the best plan available to cover my old butt! If I get sick... I will fix myself up enough to get on a flight back home and use my benefits and if ask I will only say " I'm retired and travel a lot and got sick while I was traveling " No one is going to ask " can I see your passport " to verified!

What I'm feel entitled is to be taken care just like they take care of every illegal immigrant and prisoners in our country with my tax money which I still contribute to even if it is minimum?

What they do not know won't hurt them! Say nothing! Good health!

[Jimbolai]

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You continue to be qualifed for the Free (Ya, Right) part of Medicare, I beleive it is the "Part A"... But to have the "Part B" and or Medicade which is still available but not usefull outside of the US, they will continue to take out the monthly payments from your Soc. Sec, ... It is easy to contact the US Dept. of Social Security in Manilla for any questions... They handle all claims and or questions for US Expats living in the Aisa area...

Pianoman

They never asked me what I wanted but just started taking out $100 a month from my SS. I am not even sure what it is for. Medicare what? I am not about to ask because I keep a low profile. Can do without the IRS or any alphabet agencies asking insane questions.