How does healthcare work for an American who moves to another country for work?
Asked by RonRon
If I take a temporary contract job for 1-2 years in another country, how does my healthcare work? Do most countries offer any kind of insurance or other type of health care to an American working there short term? Does my u.s. policy do me any good anywhere? The countries I'm considering are China, Canada, Italy, Germany, Mexico, Australia, and others.

Best Answer:
You should check your U.S. insurance policy to see whether it covers you outside the U.S. China does not have universal health care, although they are planning to re-introduce it in the next few years. But even without insurance, medical care is very cheap by American standards. My son spent a week in the hospital in China, and the cost was less than $1,000. In Canada, you have to be a resident of the province for 3 months before you are eligible for "free" health care. Before that, you will have to pay for any medical treatment you need. You might want to get a travel health insurance plan to cover you in the first three months. All the other countries you listed, except Mexico, have universal health care of some kind, although eligibility requirements may vary.

Your us policy is useless. You would have to buy a international recognized policy. Do some research.
Answered by sassy25

The answers will vary depending on country you go to and terms of your employment contract. If it is an offshore contract, many countries require that the employer guarantee full medical coverage and repatriation as a condition of issuing the employment visa. If contract is with a local company in another country, employment visa terms & conditions might still require that the employer guarantee full health coverage and repatriation. Other countries have national health systems which may or may not cover foreign workers on employment visas. Other countries have no national health system so you would either pay as you go (cash at time of service), or get your own health insurance. Unless you buy a travel health insurance policy, no US insurance is good in other countries. Some travel policies only provide a limited term of coverage from date of departure from US and are geared for the executive who travels back & forth a lot, e.g. maximum of 30-day trip, or 60-day trip, and you have to return to US to reset the clock, so to speak. You will have to get specifics on each country, plus the terms of the employment contract with the employer, plus terms & conditions for issuance of employment visa.
Answered by ibu guru

Australia. Try the www.medicare.com.au site for an explanation of the Australian system. The information you want will mostly be in the "For individuals and familes" sections in the "Migrants and travellers" area. If you have a residency visa (which you will almost certainly need for a contract job lasting a year or two) then you should be able to register with the Medicare system and also be able to obtain subsidised medication via the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme like any Australian citizen. Your spouse/children, if any, would also be covered. The basic Medicare cover is quite good but does not cover dental and the waiting lists for non-critical surgery ("elective") can be long - great if you need a heart transplant for free but a problem if you need a hernia fixed. The Government encourages and subsidises people to take out private health insurance as well. AUD $300 per month is typical for cover for a full family. Employers generally do not pay for employee health insurance but there are plenty of insurers. Australia currently has the 5th highest life expectancy and the United States is 38th, which may possibly say something about access to health care.
Answered by Mike