| | |  Health & Beauty | October 2008 
Baby Boomer Retirees: Medicare in Mexico
 Donna Fox - cpac.berkeley.edu
| "There are some initial steps we can take to make health care portable for retirees living abroad."
- David Warner | | |
The issue of exploring affordable Medicare options is becoming urgent given that the first of the baby boomers will turn 65 in 2011. As many as 70 million American baby boomers are expected to retire in the next two decades, many without adequate pensions or health plans, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article.
"Many retirees look at moving abroad as a way to maintain an upper income lifestyle on a moderate income," said David Warner, a professor at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin.
Warner, who studies issues surrounding Medicare portability, directed a 2007 policy research project report examining Medicare in Mexico.
"Factors such as climate, taxes and the ability to afford household assistance also affect a retiree's decision to move out of the U.S., and many retirees look at our neighbor to the south, in Mexico."
Approximately 100,000 to 200,000 U.S.-origin retirees currently live in Mexico at least one-half of the year, according to Warner. However, this number could grow dramatically as the number of baby boomer retirees grows.
Warner also points out that there are 15 million to 20 million Mexican-born U.S. residents who contribute to Social Security and Medicare, and for whom retiring to Mexico makes sense. According to Warner, Medicare portability is particularly important for this population.
"It would be prudent to test alternative arrangements for Medicare coverage now when the numbers of retirees abroad are smaller rather than later when there may be more retirees living abroad and the costs will be much higher."
Warner will be one of four panelists participating in a binational health insurance workshop at the American Public Health Association conference in San Diego on Oct. 28. The workshop is sponsored by the California Program on Access to Care (CPAC), part of UC Berkeley's School of Public Health.
Warner researched other countries that provide health coverage portability for retirees, countries such as Spain, Greece, Germany, Turkey, Britain and Ireland, in an effort to glean ideas for implementing U.S. health care portability agreements with Mexico.
Warner's research suggests it could be less expensive for U.S. taxpayers if retiree health coverage was portable. Expense is important. According to the 2007 Annual Report by the Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees, 2011 will be the first year that expenditures will exceed income in the Medicare trust fund.
"There are some initial steps we can take to make health care portable for retirees living abroad," said Warner. "For example, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services could authorize demonstration projects that study the impact of binational health coverage for retirees. Also, it might be possible to implement binational coverage for a retiree's emergency services."
According to CPAC Director Gil Ojeda, Medicare portability is one of the key elements in the overall health care reform movement. "We need to make sure Medicare is accessible and affordable to our aging baby boomer population as well as for our Mexican-born U.S. residents wherever they choose to spend their retirement years," said Ojeda.
In addition to examining binational health coverage for retirees living abroad, the CPAC workshops will address binational insurance issues pertaining to Mexican migrant workers.
CPAC's binational workshop is entitled "Binational Health Insurance: Prescription for Binational Health Care." Panelists and topics include:
• Miguel Angel Gonzalez Block, director, Center for Health Systems Research, Salud Migrante (Mexico), presenting on "Developing a Proposal through Binational Health Systems Integration"
• William Dow, professor at UC Berkeley School of Public Health, presenting on "Models for Coverage: Successful and Proposed"
• Arturo Vargas Bustamante, assistant professor at UCLA School of Public Health, presenting on "Willingness to Pay: What Do Migrants Say?"
• David Warner, professor, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin, presenting on "Issues in Providing Coverage to International Retirees and Visitors in Mexico"
CPAC is hosting two other workshops at the American Public Health Association conference: "Local Innovation to Expand Health Care Coverage" and "Health Care Reform in California: Next Steps."
The California Program on Access to Care is an applied policy research program administered by UC Berkeley School of Public Health in coordination with the University of California Office of the President. CPAC's activities provide independent research and analysis to state decision-makers, including legislators and government agency leaders. CPAC works to expand health care access for the state's most vulnerable populations, including immigrants, agriculture workers, the working poor and other low-income groups.
For more information about CPAC and CPAC-sponsored workshops, visit: cpac.berkeley.edu. |
|
| |
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us