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Retirement Destinations Overseas With Excellent Health Care

Moving to a new country for retirement is a chance to reinvent yourself and add excitement to your day-to-day life. It’s also an opportunity to lower your monthly cost of living, potentially in a dramatic way.

The United States has the most expensive health care in the world. Depending on the country you choose, an overseas move can give you access to affordable, high-quality medical services. Listed alphabetically, these seven popular retirement destinations offer top-notch health care:

— Colombia

— France

— Ireland

— Italy

— Malta

— Spain

— Thailand

Colombia

Colombia has some of the best health care options in Latin America, offering highly skilled doctors, well-equipped hospitals and excellent care at affordable prices. It’s long been known as a destination for cosmetic surgery and other advanced procedures.

Colombia’s health care system is ranked No. 36 in the Legatum Prosperity Index, which measures how healthy a population is as well as how accessible and effective that country’s health care services are. For reference, the United States is ranked at No. 69. Colombia’s basic public health insurance plan is called Entidades Promotoras de Salud, and it’s inexpensive and easy to acquire. The plan is similar to a preferred provider organization in that you must seek care within a preferred network of providers.

Some expats opt to pay for additional care or pay out of pocket to receive care faster, as it takes time to navigate the EPS system. Many doctors are English-speaking because they are trained in the United States or Europe, although the level spoken among other medical staff is lower.

Medical procedures can cost one-third to one-tenth of the cost of comparable care in the United States. This includes nursing homes, where costs are far lower than they are in the U.S., and the quality of care can be the same, if not better.

[Read: How to Buy Property Overseas for Retirement]

France

France’s health care system, comprised of a network of public and private hospitals, doctors and other service providers, is ranked No. 20 in the 2023 Legatum Prosperity Index.

France offers universal health care financed by Sécurité Sociale, its national insurance system. Citizens and residents can choose their general practitioner from a network of 94,000, which is among the highest in the European Union.

You can access France’s health care system by paying social security contributions, which means most of the cost of the extraordinary medical care is covered. But even paying out of pocket, the care is affordable. A basic consultation with a doctor costs about 25 euros.

A downside to France’s health care system is that there’s no guarantee that hospital staff or doctors will be fluent in English. The country has resources to help you find English-speaking doctors to resolve this. Doctolib, for example, lets you filter medical professionals by their background. At the American Hospital of Paris and the Franco-British Hospital, you have a high chance of being seen by an English-speaking doctor.

[READ: The Best Places to Retire Overseas Where English Is Spoken]

Ireland

The Emerald Isle holds allure for many Americans, and as many as 31 million Americans claim Irish ancestry. For some, ancestry could be a path to the right to live in Ireland permanently. If you become a resident of Ireland, you can access Irish health care, which is a mix of public and private services.

Public health care is managed by the Health Service Executive, and most residents of Ireland are entitled to receive care through the public system. It provides some services free of charge, but not all. Where fees are required, they are subsidized by the HSE and affordable by U.S. standards. For example, the average visit to a doctor costs 54 euros, while a visit to the emergency room costs a maximum of 100 euros.

Ireland’s public health system faces challenges, like long wait times and understaffing at hospitals. The country is working to overhaul the system and launch a new health care plan, called Sláintecare, by 2030. About half the population relies on private insurance to receive care faster. If you’re applying for residency in Ireland, you will likely need to purchase private health insurance as part of your residency application.

Italy

Italy’s national health service is called the Servizio Sanitario Nazionale and it ranks No. 17 in the Legatum Prosperity Index for 2023. It is administered by regional governments. The SSN provides care at public hospitals, access to general practitioners and certain specialists, subsidized medicines and other services at little to no cost.

If you move to Italy, you can access public health care by registering with the SSN and paying an annual fee. You will need to have an Italian identity card to be able to apply for an Italian health insurance card, allowing you to register with a local hospital.

Some expats opt to pay for insurance to access Italy’s private hospitals, which provide additional services. This allows for more freedom of choice of doctors and facilities, shorter wait times and more comforts, although it comes at a cost.

It’s important to note that standards of care are not uniform across Italy. Population centers tend to have the best quality care available, and generally speaking, Northern Italy has better quality care than Southern Italy.

Malta

Malta has been a haven for health care for hundreds of years. Its first hospital dates to 1372. From 1530 to 1798, it was the headquarters of the Knights Hospitaller, a Catholic military order that provided humanitarian and medical support. During World War I, the country was known as the Nurse of the Mediterranean because so many wounded soldiers were sent there to recover.

Today, Malta continues to provide some of the world’s best health care. It’s ranked No. 19 in the Legatum Prosperity Index. Its public health care system, known as the government health care service, is mostly free at the point of delivery and includes most essential services. It also includes prescribed medicine if you’re a hospital inpatient plus three days after discharge.

Malta also has an excellent private health care system. As a foreign resident, you are required to have private insurance. Premiums are considerably lower than in the United States. Most doctors work in both public and private facilities, which speaks to the high standards of care overall.

Malta is an underrated choice for overseas retirement. It’s an island nation in the Mediterranean Sea with warm weather year-round. The official languages are English and Maltese. Because of its reputation for highly trained medical staff and state-of-the-art facilities, Malta is a medical tourism destination.

Spain

Spain is among the world’s top-ranked countries for medical care, ranked No. 26 for health in the Legatum Prosperity Index. Expats throughout the country speak highly of its health care system. The number of practicing doctors is significantly above the average in the EU, and life expectancy in Spain is among the highest in the EU, at 83 years.

Spain offers virtually universal health care under the national service, the Sistema Nacional de Salud, or SNS, and over 99% of the population receives public health care. The SNS is funded by taxes through social security and free of charge at the point of care. The system is decentralized, with each of Spain’s 17 autonomous communities responsible for distributing care.

Some residents of Spain opt to take out private health insurance, which is affordable by U.S. standards, to supplement public health care coverage. If you’re applying for residency in Spain, you’ll likely need to take out private health insurance as part of your application.

[Read: How to Retire in Thailand.]

Thailand

Thailand is internationally acclaimed for its inexpensive, high-quality medical care. It’s a well-established medical tourism destination, attracting people from around the world with its highly trained staff, state-of-the-art equipment and affordable prices. The Legatum Prosperity Index ranks Thailand No. 31 for health.

Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health oversees its health care system, and a network of public hospitals provides universal health care to Thai nationals. Across the country, you’ll find a mix of public hospitals and high-quality private hospitals. There are 62 medical organizations accredited by Joint Commission International — an organization that measures best practices in quality and patient safety — in Thailand.

As an expat in Thailand, you will likely seek care through the country’s private health care system. The standards are excellent — sometimes even luxury. Many private facilities have English-speaking staff, high-quality equipment and spotless facilities.

Costs for private insurance in Thailand are affordable, but some opt not to take out policies and instead pay out of pocket for care when needed. This can be a risky strategy, but it works for some expats. One U.S. expat based in Thailand paid out of pocket for a hip replacement in Thailand. He reported paying $11,630, which included all tests, exams, appointments, surgery, medication and a three-day hospital stay. For the same procedure in the U.S., not including medication or other perks, he was quoted $37,320, which highlights the savings opportunity available overseas.

More from U.S. News

The 25 Best Places to Retire in 2025

The Best Affordable Places to Retire Overseas in 2023

How to Start Investing and Saving for Retirement With Little Money

Retirement Destinations Overseas With Excellent Health Care originally appeared on usnews.com

Update 01/29/25: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.

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