Hound Dog
Oct 8, 2010, 5:27 PM
Post #14 of 19
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Re: [Judy in Ags] US Senate Health Care Bill: Expats Exempt From Coverage
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We have actually "moved" to Mexico--lock, stock and barrel--eight years ago. I don't think that means one doesn't need a stateside address for some business transactions. Ex. a credit card address there for Ebay purchases, etc. I'm hoping that our Mexico address with Social Security does the trick.
We have also lived in Mexico for almost ten years with no U.S. address at all. We no longer use credit cards but when we did(American Express, U.S. Bank issued VISA), we had no problem because of the lack of a U.S. address although those accounts were opened before we moved here and we are almost certain we could not open a new credit card or checking account in the states under present laws considering the paranoid state of the U.S. with its Patriot Act. No matter as, should we wish to do so we could get a credit card from one of our two Mexican banks no sweat. However, we use our debit cards for retail and internet purchases, airline tickets, European rail tickets, hotel and other on-line deposits and every purpose for which we would have used a credit card in the past. This has not proven to be a problem for several years, at least to date.
Our bank/brokerage house in the U.S. designates us as international clients and we maintain a checking account there where our social security benefits are deposited monthly. The SSA knows we live in Mexico and maintain no U.S. address and this is no problem for them even though my wife is not a U.S. citizen.
In retrospect and after years of doing quite well with no U.S. address whatsoever, we wonder why we worried about that in the first place. By the way, I have full Medicare coverage if that is what I want even without a U.S. address the only caveat being that I would have to move back up there for treatment if I wished to take advantage of that coverage. This is something I would do only if absolutely necessary because of a need for medical attention unavailable in Mexico such as certain organ transplants. After years of experience, we believe the medical treatment we receive in Guadalajara to be as good or superior to that we would have received in the San Francisco Bay Area with private insurance and far superior to the service we actually received under the dreadful HMOs we had to use in California. I shudder to think of those HMO charnal houses with their perfunctory and impersonal service in San Francisco, Oakland, Santa Rosa and St. Helena. Why would one want to go under the knife up there unless absolutely required?
We are now in the process of converting to inmigrado status and then will go for citizenship. Still no problem with U.S. accounts and investments or SSA benefits including Medicare.
I should mention that we have no U.S. assets except retirement accounts with our only real property in Mexico or France so the reader´s situation may differ and a U.S. address may be prudent.
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