USA Health Care

Did you know that in America you cannot pruchase health insurance for the first time if you are over 64 and 1/2...don't forget the half! This should be a wake up call for all Americans living overseas long term, and planning to come home for retirement. Unless you only plan to travel back/or to the US for three to six months and can get coverage via Travel Insurance, you could be stuck indeed.

USA health care always begins with insurance. It's that time of year for my husband and I to change countries, from the UK to the USA; and so uppermost in our minds is health insurance. As I am under sixty five, we almost didn't purchase travel insurance for me, thinking I might just find an American health policy and get started making those payments. My husband, however, is over sixty five so there was no policy available for him to buy in America. This limited our travel to the six months for which we could find UK travel insurance coverage for him. My husband, being kind, didn't want to just buy insurance for himeself and not for me- and it was a good thing he did!

We arrived in Florida on Tuesday and on Wednesday I developed a dental emergency that seemed to require a root canal. We thankfully also have a church we attend when in this part of the world (Fisherman's Net Revival Center) and our pastors Jim and Joy McInness recommended a dentist Jim had used and liked. The dentist, Dr S.... was friendly, professional and able to help. Only we learned that a root canal and work afterwards would not give us much change from $3,000!

I had a good look at my tooth. "Are you worth $3,000?" I asked my tooth? "No," was my conclusion. If it were a lovely twenty year old tooth just two weeks before my wedding, I would opt for the root canal. But at this price, this tooth would have to go! So, for $289.00 I had it extracted. I definately want a new tooth....and apparently I can have it in any colour I want. Pink. Purple. White even.