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Old 04-03-2017, 07:09 PM
 
Location: rain city
2,957 posts, read 12,701,973 times
Reputation: 4973

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Regarding Ecuador, we were there for a month in January and met with an immigration attorney in Cuenca.

Just days before that meeting, approximately January 8, Ecuador announced a complete overhaul of their visa regulations effective February 1.

Since Feb 1, the Ecuador ministry has declined all new visa applications until the details of the new regulations are clarified.

The pension visa, a permanent residency visa, has now turned into two 2-year temporary residency visas which must be satisfied before the applicant can apply for a pensioner's permanent residency visa. During the term of those temporary visas the visa holder must show proof of private health insurance coverage.

There is this information on all of the new visa details, just posted on Gringotree:

https://www.gringotree.com/ecuadors-...-requirements/
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Old 04-03-2017, 07:35 PM
 
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,660 posts, read 57,778,624 times
Reputation: 46126
Quote:
Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly View Post
I agree that Thai hospitals / medical care is great for a good price.

The lone concern would be, what if something goes wrong? Who pays? And if it comes to a lawsuit ... ugh ... I would not relish dealing with something like that in Thailand.
And do you have that concern in USA (maybe you should).

Thailand and many countries have a pretty decent legal system, should your concern come a necessity. You need to play within their rule-book, but plenty of great attorneys and the process can be considered robust.

How much would that 'great attorney' cost in the USA?
Would the hospital or Dr be able to afford better legal counsel than you?
What about the awarded damages and costs?

Maybe I should be concerned about the Thai Dr and hospital coming to USA and taking my house. They certainly would do so if they were from USA!

Life is a set of calculated risks that we all measure and tolerate differently.

Trying to avoid those risks is a full time J-O-B !
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Old 04-03-2017, 08:12 PM
 
12,823 posts, read 24,342,669 times
Reputation: 11040
Quote:
Originally Posted by StealthRabbit View Post
And do you have that concern in USA (maybe you should).

Thailand and many countries have a pretty decent legal system, should your concern come a necessity. You need to play within their rule-book, but plenty of great attorneys and the process can be considered robust.

How much would that 'great attorney' cost in the USA?
Would the hospital or Dr be able to afford better legal counsel than you?
What about the awarded damages and costs?

Maybe I should be concerned about the Thai Dr and hospital coming to USA and taking my house. They certainly would do so if they were from USA!

Life is a set of calculated risks that we all measure and tolerate differently.

Trying to avoid those risks is a full time J-O-B !
Yet, there are Thai expats here in the US, who, after being here a while, and even knowing all the imperfections here in the US, don't go back home for their critical medical care. They have expressed similar concerns as what I wrote. Also, in my opinion, you have a bit of naivete about the Thai legal system. Land of smile on the surface, very dirty beneath the surface. Makes the system here look good in comparison.
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Old 04-03-2017, 08:23 PM
 
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
7,678 posts, read 5,414,240 times
Reputation: 16129
Quote:
Originally Posted by StealthRabbit View Post
research, no (who funds this? not the Thai government or Academia (Their excellent DR's are trained in the West or (Australia)

care (?)... when is the last time you had care(?) in a USA hospital?
Asia care borders on pampering!

For many of us w/o HC, the USA is no longer an option (pre -age 65), soon to increase, and will long before we get there.

My care in Thailand has been exceptional, but I was not a 'research patient'

One thing amazing is the SPEED of getting in, doing paperwork, seeing staff, getting the results, paying... Ironically that can all be done in under an hour. Once you are in their system, much faster.

Think of a stranger w/o insurance showing up at a USA hospital and getting registered, examined, treated, and pay in less than an hour. (One Thailand hospital trip for a physical for work visa was under 30 minutes. new patient registration, cards, exam, post exam followup, paying). poof... a done deal!
I don't get the "without healthcare" in the U.S. part of your statement.

Why would you be without healthcare and yet can afford "glorious" Thai treatment? You are in their system, but it can't be free.
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Old 04-03-2017, 09:17 PM
 
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,660 posts, read 57,778,624 times
Reputation: 46126
Quote:
Originally Posted by SFBayBoomer View Post
I don't get the "without healthcare" in the U.S. part of your statement.

Why would you be without healthcare and yet can afford "glorious" Thai treatment? You are in their system, but it can't be free.
To have HC in USA would cost me $2200/ month for a $20k OOP annual policy, so... we have chosen (by necessity) to be 'self insured' = buy the best care we can afford. (where-ever that happens to be) Thailand, Malaysia, UAE happen to have a well established Medical Tourism industry for the 15 million of us who need to use that method. Medical Tourism Statistics & Facts | Patients Beyond Borders

My quotes / costs in Thailand (or elsewhere) are 1/3 to 1/10th USA rates for same procedures. (I have quoted every procedure I have needed for last 20 yrs) Makes a $500 - $800 RT ticket pretty cheap. (But I also have plenty of free mileage for free passage, I usually donate to military / friends in need). Arrive Bangkok and there are plenty of 'Hospital Kiosks' at the airport, to whisk you away to quality care. EZ, fast, safe, affordable, and good recuperation options. (including family stays)

Thus many in USA have to "Think Outside the Box..." but in actuality... we must also ACT outside the box, USA is NOT a matter of choice for a comprehensive retirement for many.
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Old 04-03-2017, 10:15 PM
 
Location: Somewhere in America
15,479 posts, read 15,564,516 times
Reputation: 28462
Perfectly happy right where I am. Plenty of clean water. Plenty of food. We have numerous roadside stands to buy product and meat. I can't drive more than 15 minutes without hitting a lake. Plenty to see and do. I'm good right where I am.
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Old 04-03-2017, 11:48 PM
 
Location: Amongst the AZ Cactus
7,068 posts, read 6,446,536 times
Reputation: 7730
Quote:
Originally Posted by dothetwist View Post
Guadalajara is home to most of Mexico's medical schools and has top notch hospitals. Lake Chapala is less than an hour from there. The upper class of Guadalajara has for centuries, owned Lake houses for weekends and vacations. Over the past 10 years (we first moved to Ajijic in 2008), doctors in Guad have opened part-time office at the Lake, so they can extend their family's weekends/vacations. Some have semi-retired to the Lake and moved their offices there full-time.

My DH went to a Cardio in Guad in 2009; that Cardio now has an office at the Lake.

My orthopedic surgeon trained at the famed Cleveland Clinic and speaks perfect English, as do most doctors in much of Mexico (many have had some training in the US...often their advanced training). His main office is in Guad, but I saw him only at the Lake where he has office hours (within another doctor's complex) on Thurs. and Fri.

Two friends had surgeries in Guad hospitals and described them as Country Clubs as far as food, service and amenities. All had wonderful care. However, the nursing staff is likely to speak Spanglish and other support staff won't speak much English if any.

At the Lake, my family doctor is two blocks away, and he makes house calls! An office visit is 150 pesos and a house call is 200 pesos.

Politics is NOT such an encompassing sport in MX as it is in the US. Pretty much no one pays attention to National politics in MX, neither ours nor theirs. The local buzz is almost always about soccer games.
I wouldn't call a nation where "no one pays attention" on this aspect as a positive and is fixated on sports instead. Not cool. History shows a detached/ignorant populace on such matters is a society that ends up in a not so pretty spot on many levels. There are also aspects to other countries like MX that gives me pause to want to live there, for example, the "guilty until proven innocent" approach.

Opinion: In Mexico, guilty till proven innocent - CNN.com

Criminal Law in Mexico | Considered Guilty Until Proven Innocent - Focus on Mexico

That alone is enough out of the gate for me to say "thanks, but no thanks" in wanting to live there.

On the aspect that some can't retire in the US so look elsewhere, that's a personal choice of course with +/-/risks/rewards but I think there are plenty of inexpensive options/reasonable COL here in the US for those to retire and make it work unless one did very poor retirement planning. It might require a move to a different place in the US but if one is willing to move to another country, this shouldn't be an issue.
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Old 04-04-2017, 09:11 AM
 
Location: City Data Land
17,156 posts, read 12,912,897 times
Reputation: 33164
Quote:
Originally Posted by ss20ts View Post
Perfectly happy right where I am. Plenty of clean water. Plenty of food. We have numerous roadside stands to buy product and meat. I can't drive more than 15 minutes without hitting a lake. Plenty to see and do. I'm good right where I am.
That's wonderful but the thread is about living outside the US. My wife and I have considered Italy and Malta but we are concerned about health care issues for expats. We are both on government healthcare (she on the VA, and I'm on Medicare). I don't know if it would be a cash based system or we could access healthcare as we have before. I think I would be at a disadvantage unless they offer an inexpensive cash based system. I believe she could still get her VA benefits at an international medical center, though.
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Old 04-04-2017, 09:21 AM
 
Location: Somewhere in America
15,479 posts, read 15,564,516 times
Reputation: 28462
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scooby Snacks View Post
That's wonderful but the thread is about living outside the US. My wife and I have considered Italy and Malta but we are concerned about health care issues for expats. We are both on government healthcare (she on the VA, and I'm on Medicare). I don't know if it would be a cash based system or we could access healthcare as we have before. I think I would be at a disadvantage unless they offer an inexpensive cash based system. I believe she could still get her VA benefits at an international medical center, though.
No the thread is about thinking outside the box and the best place in the world to retire...The US was not excluded. For many people it's not feasible to move outside of the US. For many folks they have no desire to move outside of the US. For us, we never imagined we would ever be able to live in a vacation destination. yet here we are! Absolutely no reason for us to ever leave for anything vacation destination. I don't handle heat and humidity well at all....we learned that very quickly when we lived in SC. So that takes out a large portion of the world. We have no desire to visit most countries let alone live in them.
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Old 04-04-2017, 11:35 AM
 
12,823 posts, read 24,342,669 times
Reputation: 11040
Quote:
Originally Posted by stevek64 View Post
I wouldn't call a nation where "no one pays attention" on this aspect as a positive and is fixated on sports instead. Not cool. History shows a detached/ignorant populace on such matters is a society that ends up in a not so pretty spot on many levels. There are also aspects to other countries like MX that gives me pause to want to live there, for example, the "guilty until proven innocent" approach.

Opinion: In Mexico, guilty till proven innocent - CNN.com

Criminal Law in Mexico | Considered Guilty Until Proven Innocent - Focus on Mexico

That alone is enough out of the gate for me to say "thanks, but no thanks" in wanting to live there.

On the aspect that some can't retire in the US so look elsewhere, that's a personal choice of course with +/-/risks/rewards but I think there are plenty of inexpensive options/reasonable COL here in the US for those to retire and make it work unless one did very poor retirement planning. It might require a move to a different place in the US but if one is willing to move to another country, this shouldn't be an issue.
That is correct. It seems many Americans who tout overseas living are completely ignorant (or in cases, willfully ignorant) about the important differences between Napoleonic Law and English Common Law. Our system is the latter. For all the beotching about "lawsuit culture" and "judicial activism" etc, our system may stink but it's better than all the alternatives tried thus far. BTW, if you depicted the countries with English Common Law or equivalent, in Green, and ones with Napoleonic Law or equivalent, in Red, the globe would be looking very Red. Our system is rare. Mainly it's found in the UK and its former colonies. Very few other countries have adopted our paradigm. Sadly, too many people learn about this the hard way.
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