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Tags >> Americans for Medicare in Mexico
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Jan 09
2010
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By: Jim Scherrer,
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Jul 06
2009
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Americans for Medicare in Mexico, A.C. (AMMAC) is a legally chartered Mexican non-profit organization based in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco. AMMAC was formed in April, 2009, in order to coordinate a campaign to obtain U.S. Congressional authorization for a Medicare Demonstration Project, benefitting eligible seniors residing in Mexico.
AMMAC is urging expatriates to write to their elected representatives and senators with their personal health-care stories. “They have constituents living in Mexico whose votes count,” Paul Crist, founder and presdient of Americans for Medicare in Mexico (AMMAC), points out in a recent newsletter. Senators and congressmen need to hear from their constituents “to understand this is an important issue,” Crist says. Crist’s newsletter and AMMAC’s website contains a sample letter to cut and paste, as well as a list of congressional offices that the organization has already visited, along with the email of a staff person who is aware of the Medicare issue. Links to a full list of elected officials is also available on the site, www.MedicareinMexico.org.
AMMAC is calling for a limited-scale Medicare experimental project in Mexico and believes it will be successful for three main reasons:
1. Medicare savings will result due to significantly lower health care costs in Mexico.
2. There will be improved health outcomes for seniors in Mexico, who are likely to access care earlier when symptoms arise and have more frequent preventative examinations and care.
3. The project will stimulate and enhance improvements already underway in certain sectors of the Mexican health provider sector.
Besides being an issue of cost savings for the Medicare Program, there is an issue of fairness. Eligible seniors living in Mexico have paid into the Medicare program through payroll deductions for their entire working lives. Yet, due to their decision to retire in Mexico, they are unable to access the services for which they have paid.
One might argue that moving to Mexico was a choice, and a consequence of that choice is foregoing benefits paid by a U.S. government program. But in many cases, that "choice" is almost an economic necessity. In a survey conducted by a team led by Dr. David Warner, Professor of Public Health Policy at the University of Texas, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Policy, it was found that the lower cost of living is the primary reason seniors choose to move to Mexico. The median income for a retired couple living full time in Mexico is $35,000 per year. There are few places in the U.S. where $35,000 is sufficient for a comfortable lifestyle, while in Mexico that sum is quite adequate.
Further to the fairness issue, the University of Texas survey found that 63% of seniors living in Mexico had worked in the U.S. for 31 years or more. These people have paid a lot of money into the Medicare system!
Most seniors living in Mexico continue to maintain their Medicare coverage. 60% are enrolled in Medicare Part A, the traditional coverage for inpatient hospital care, and 50% pay monthly premiums for Medicare Part B, which covers outpatient medical care expenses including doctor's fees. Smaller numbers of seniors have Medicare Parts C and D. Yet, in order to access the benefits for which they have paid, and in many cases continue to pay, they must travel back to the U.S.
Bringing Medicare to Mexico is primarily a political campaign. But rather than votes from the public, we need votes from Members of Congress. Getting those votes is never easy. Members of Congress must consider, debate, and vote over hundreds of issues every year. TO READ MORE ABOUT AMMAC Go to http://www.medicareinmexico.org
