# Expat Veteran in Mexico.........Any VA Benefits



## TAdams (Oct 26, 2015)

Ok, question.........

My father, a veteran is interested in relocation to Mexico.

I need to know if there is any way for him to get his benefits down south?

He does not have any service related health issues but rather just health issues related with getting older.

He is of course on a fixed income from his SS

Is there a way for him to get his meds and healthcare on the U.S. Nickel.

Perhaps a health insurance program or similar.

I appreciate any assistance and thank all of you in advance.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

TAdams said:


> Ok, question.........
> 
> My father, a veteran is interested in relocation to Mexico.
> 
> ...


It looks to me like health care abroad is limited to service-connected problems, but you can read it for yourself.

http://www.benefits.va.gov/PERSONA/veteran-abroad.asp


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

He would have to receive his VA benefits in the USA. We lived in Mexico for 13 years and hated to leave, but had to return to the USA last year in order to use the VA and Medicare systems. As age advances, one spends more and more time in hospitals and doctor‘s offices. The care and facilities in Guadalajara were excellent, but frequency of use can break the bank, even at their very reasonable prices.
That said, I understand that some folks live near the border in Mexico and commute for VA appointments for routine care, or to pick up medications every 90 days. However, emergencies would be another story and one must pay the hospitals/doctors in Mexico. They can hold you until you do.


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## derek.larson (Jul 6, 2015)

Is your father retired from the military and/or have Tricare?


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## coondawg (May 1, 2014)

RVGRINGO said:


> However, emergencies would be another story and one must pay the hospitals/doctors in Mexico. They can hold you until you do.


Does that mean that if you have no way to get the necessary funds together and are too old or ill to work, that you can live the rest of your life in the hospital for free?


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

You are thinking like a Texan again..... Actually, I was held over a weekend once, since BC/BS does not operate their office for foreign claims on weekends. I griped, as the hospital has the ability to seize homes, bank accounts, cars, furniture, etc., and they did not charge me for the extra three days.


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## coondawg (May 1, 2014)

RVGRINGO said:


> You are thinking like a Texan again..... Actually, I was held over a weekend once, since BC/BS does not operate their office for foreign claims on weekends. I griped, as the hospital has the ability to seize homes, bank accounts, cars, furniture, etc., and they did not charge me for the extra three days.


Sometimes it appears that we may be the only ones left that can. 
3 days of free room and board sounds good to some of us minority Texans that don't have our own oil wells and cattle ranches. 
Yee-haw !


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## Howler (Apr 22, 2013)

*VA, TriCare & MediCare in Mexico*



TundraGreen said:


> It looks to me like health care abroad is limited to service-connected problems, but you can read it for yourself.
> 
> http://www.benefits.va.gov/PERSONA/veteran-abroad.asp


Thanks for the link TG - I'll read it when I get a moment. As I am 100% service-connected & retired (with Medicare & Tricare, too), I've been interested in how this would work out once we made our break for Mexico. I've never been sure of which system would work, if at all, down there.



RVGRINGO said:


> He would have to receive his VA benefits in the USA. We lived in Mexico for 13 years and hated to leave, but had to return to the USA last year in order to use the VA and Medicare systems. As age advances, one spends more and more time in hospitals and doctor‘s offices. The care and facilities in Guadalajara were excellent, but frequency of use can break the bank, even at their very reasonable prices.
> That said, I understand that some folks live near the border in Mexico and commute for VA appointments for routine care, or to pick up medications every 90 days. However, emergencies would be another story and one must pay the hospitals/doctors in Mexico. They can hold you until you do.


RVG - Sorry to hear that you had to give up the dream & go back NOB! How have you found the (re)adjustment to being back here after living that long in Mexico? I've got issues that are being currently treated through the VA & TriCare (depends who is faster on a given problem); but I've been hoping that the cost of paying for random costs & medications out of pocket would be bearable compared to the US. For anyone else reading: I have read elsewhere that some costs can be billed back to TriCare... does that apply to MediCare and dental insurance plans from the US? More info or links, please!!


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Howler said:


> . . . I have read elsewhere that some costs can be billed back to TriCare... does that apply to MediCare and dental insurance plans from the US? More info or links, please!!


Don't know what TriCare is, but I do know that Medicare will not pay for any medical expenses you incur outside the US.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

As long as I can avoid hospitalization, living in Mexico would be more economical; even though I would have to purchase my several medications. However, the fear, or inevitability of hospitalization makes my wife insist that we stay near a VA Hospital and also able to tap into the Medicare system for her, or even for me if the VA is unable or unwilling to provide some services.
Aside from that, I am not adjusting at all, as I am unable to drive or to walk a whole block, even at this lower elevation, so life is pretty boring and much too expensive here. Enjoy it in Mexico while you still can.


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## Howler (Apr 22, 2013)

Isla Verde said:


> Don't know what TriCare is, but I do know that Medicare will not pay for any medical expenses you incur outside the US.


Thanks IV - I didn't think it would. Here NOB it's my "primary" while TriCare is my secondary... which means it "should" pick up anything that MediCare doesn't pay for with an approved provider. TriCare is the health care plan for military retirees & their dependants. Being that TriCare is a more "traditional" type of plan, I have heard but not confirmed that it would pay for treatment in Mexico but I don't know what the limits are to its coverage - much less, how to process it. I'll need to make some phone calls!

I am also rated at 100% for service-connected disability by the VA, which means I also get treatment through the VA when I can. Sometimes one system is more efficient than the other in getting appointments, treatment or meds. Obviously, there aren't any VA facilities in Mexico to visit, so I have doubts about receiving care there that would be covered or paid for by them. But then again - I would be glad to be pleasantly surprised!! 



RVGRINGO said:


> As long as I can avoid hospitalization, living in Mexico would be more economical; even though I would have to purchase my several medications. However, the fear, or inevitability of hospitalization makes my wife insist that we stay near a VA Hospital and also able to tap into the Medicare system for her, or even for me if the VA is unable or unwilling to provide some services.
> Aside from that, I am not adjusting at all, as I am unable to drive or to walk a whole block, even at this lower elevation, so life is pretty boring and much too expensive here. Enjoy it in Mexico while you still can.


RVG - It just occurred to me to ask: Were there no private healthcare plans that you could have bought into in Mexico that would have been as or more economical than MediCare, TriCare or the VA NOB? I know that, overall, healthcare is less expensive out -of-pocket for estadounidenses compared to the US, but a good care policy could make it even more reasonable. You didn't find that to be the case?

Again, I feel for you in having to give up the dream to return NOB. I sincerely hope your health issues are better, and that maybe the closeness of other family members for visits is some consolation...


Howler


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## coondawg (May 1, 2014)

I have a friend, a retired Army Sergeant, that told me that Tricare has paid for all of his surgeries in Mexico. Supposedly he had them done in Guadalajara and the doctors and hospitals accepted the amount they paid.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

San Javier Hospital sometimes accepts Tricare.....sometimes not.
Medical insurance in Mexico just isn‘t available to folks of retirement age; 65-70 cut-off is common unless you started at a younger age. However, if you did start young, you can quicly be priced out of the policy as you age and premiums rise incrementally. The public systems are not anywhere close to the quality of the private systems, nor do they cover everything.
Mexican hospitals expect their bill to be paid in full; not discounted heavily as in the USA when paid by an insurer.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

RVGRINGO said:


> […]
> Mexican hospitals expect their bill to be paid in full; not discounted heavily as in the USA when paid by an insurer.


True, however, Mexican hospitals do not inflate their costs as much as US hospitals, so paying in full at a Mexican hospital can be much less than the copay at a US hospital depending on your insurance or lack thereof.


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