Health Insurance for Elderly Ex-Pat Parent?

[simoneves]

My wife and I lived in California from 2001 to 2006, then returned to the UK with our American 3yo son, but we are now regretting it, and are planning to return permanently to California in the new year.

We have Green Cards, and Travel Permits for our "temporary absence", and will be eligible to apply for Citizenship in August 2008 (90 days shy of our Green Card five year point). I have a job offer already, and my wife intends to return to her previous job (she is a nurse).

The only issue is my elderly mother, who currently lives alone in the UK, but our hope is that if we take Citizenship we can then bring her in to live near us.

The only flaw in the plan is Health Insurance for her (as my immediate family and I will be covered through my job), as she will be 86 by that point, and has a few minor health issues and required medications.

Recommendations for any insurers offering plans for her situation, or advice on her qualification (or otherwise) for Medicare or Medi-Cal (CA Medicaid) would be most welcome.

Thanks in advance.

[Bevdeforges]

The Medicare website has all the info on qualification there, but I suspect you'll find that your mother won't qualify as she isn't a US citizen. (The details on the site mention being a legal resident for at least 5 years, but there is a phone number to call for more details. That could be your best bet.)

It's also true that finding medical insurance for someone over the age of 80 can be pretty difficult, not to mention moving her to a foreign country where she has only limited ties.

I'm on the other side of that gap. I live in France and my father (just turned 86) is in a nursing home back in the US. Given the issues of qualifying for the local health care programs, it seems more practical for him to remain where he is - in a familiar system where he is fully qualified for care and treatment. (Admittedly, in my case there is the language barrier, too, but trans-Atlantic accents can be a problem for the elderly.)

These days, with Internet contact and relatively cheap air fares, it may well be more practical to plan frequent calls, contacts and trips back rather than trying to find a way to move her over to the States.
Cheers,
Bev

[simoneves]

Hi Bev,

Thanks for that. We do plan to visit regularly, and hopefully she can still manage to come and visit us, plus she is computer-literate so we will be able to do stuff like webcam chats, but of course she is quite right in saying that none of that is a substitute for living nearby and seeing her only grandchild grow up first hand.

Since my post, I have found a couple of others on this forum and another which concur with your conclusions which is that no insurance company will want to touch you once over 80, especially with pre-existing conditions.

Of course, if anyone else on here disagrees, please speak up!