US health insurance (medicare/medicaid) as a retiree coverage in Japan?

[solo7100]

Greetings,

A unique question: is anyone knowledgeable about a 70+ year old who is on medicare/medicaid (I forgot which one they have) and veteran's health insurance in the US and if they end up living in Japan for the remainder of their years....would they get coverage over here?

In other words, they have full 100% coverage for everything in the states, and they are wondering if that coverage would cover them here in Japan should they move. (i.e. they go to the clinic here in Japan, pay, then submit a claim to their US insurance company, and BAM...all taken care of).

Any thoughts/experience?

Thanks,

[captainspoke]

Some googling should gain some info about using medicare/medicaid overseas. (Doesn't medicaid have some income thresholds or something? And isn't it state-based? --How would that square with being overseas/an overseas claim?)

For VA, there might be some chance of on-base service, but I'd guess they'd be absolutely last in line behind active, their dependents, maybe contractors, etc. And that's if at all. Also, the way you phrase that as "veteran's health insurance" likely means that they are not retired after 20-25-30yrs, but that they are using VA services there in the US. (Like I might be eligible to use, since I was in the service for several years.) Just no--don't count on this.

*

Importantly, what kind of visa/status of residence can this 70-yr old hope for? Even if they want to come as a dependent of someone already here (e.g., child), if there are other sibs in the US (from what I've read) it is hard to get approved.

There is no 'retirement' visa here, as is the case in some other countries, and it doesn't matter if you can prove income per month/year or whatever.

Instead of japan, suggest someplace like panama, that is familiar with treating US retirees.

[ClearAsMud]

Except for certain very restricted cases, Medicare doesn't cover treatment received in foreign countries. The Medicare website explaining this is here, and a PDF document with a few more details can be downloaded here.

[Edit: here is the Dept. of State page that also says "in general, Medicare and Medicaid do not cover medical costs overseas."

[TokyoWart]

I have looked into Medicare coverage and my understanding is there are no avenues for Medicare coverage for care in Japan. This is an issue for US expats because if we delay the start of Medicare after age 65 and are not covered by healthcare insurance from employment during those years, Medicare will have an added cost for every month of delay in starting the program. Medicaid would be covering nursing home care for someone without financial resources (I doubt that this is what the 70+ year old is on unless they are living in a nursing home). I have no experience with VA coverage outside the US but this website suggests that this might actually be a thing in some cases (no idea if it's possible in Japan):

https://www.va.gov/COMMUNITYCARE/progra ... /index.asp

[SLW]

Medicare is US only so no. But a Medigap policy very well could cover foreign medical services, but would depend on the selected coverage level and provider of the supplemental insurance.

[shyam]

The best course of action would be to seek advice from Medicare/Medicaid or the Veterans Affairs directly or check here for any Medicaid information. They might help answer your question.

[shyam]

That's a unique situation for sure. It might be best for them to directly reach out to their US insurance company and ask about international coverage. The rules can vary, and it's always good to get it straight from the source.