Private Health Insurance, etc.

Be aware that original Medicare doesn't cover medical care outside the US, and Medigap or Medicare Advantage plans offer only limited benefits.

Far below age 65, US citizen living abroad.

Key question to start with is what do you need and what does your destination provide.

For example - do you have significant preexisting or chronic conditions that need on going care or access to specialists? Does your destination country have a national health system, are you eligible to use it, and how well does it meet your needs? How much coverage do you need to feel secure? How often do you plan to travel and specifically, visit USA (if applicable - because many plans exclude this)?

For my case: 1- Now live in a country with a good quality national health system that I'm eligible to use. However wait times are long so in practicality, I use this system for serious emergencies, immunizations, and prescriptions.

2- Buy a private policy. In my case since I'm living in one country I have a private health insurance policy available to residents. I use this for primary care, urgent care, specialists, and anything elective. I had to provide proof of prior ongoing coverage for any pre-existing conditions for those to be covered by this plan, and it excluded some things in the first year. If you're a nomad, there are similar options available that include the world or world ex-US. Price is quite reasonable and there is a big range of coverage amounts to choose from. YMMV on coverage of preexisting conditions so make sure you thoroughly research it. It might be worth getting in a local FB group for your destination to find out where/how people are buying private insurance, costs, and if/how people use the public system as well.

3- When I travel internationally, my policy provides some coverage. I research the destination and determine if I need to purchase a higher amount of coverage via a short term travel health insurance policy or not.

Lessons - GET YOUR DOCUMENTATION TOGETHER. OMG this was a project to gather all the different past coverage I've had. Consolidate your medical/immunization records so you can give these to your new provider. THIS IS A SOLVEABLE PROBLEM - DON'T LET IT HOLD YOU BACK FROM LIVING THE LIFE YOU WANT - mainly this is a big worry for people in the US, if you leave, the worry decreases by at least one order of magnitude…. and you'll likely get equal or better care for less money and less stress. Learn enough of the local language to be able to communicate your basic needs in case of emergency. If returning to the US for a visit - get a temporary travel policy specific to the US.

Different if you're a nomad vs an expat staying in one country. As a nomad, I use Cigna's international/global plan.

A lot of factors come into play here. One depends on the country you'd like to move to, and what their process is for residency that includes their health care system - eg, Costa Rica.

Annual and month to month policies are available from a range of providers, including Allianz, World Nomads, SafetyWing, and more. One big factor is if you just want emergency medical (eg, have a health issue, injury, etc., and need reimbursement), or an international equivalent of health care coverage (eg, you want to be able to have regular checkups, manage an ongoing condition, etc.).

Regulations for healthcare are different in different countries. I have private insurance for my family and myself in Ecuador which is affordable, but coverage for pre-existing conditions is much more limited than in the US. Some folks use a combination of government health coverage and private coverage to address that here. However, it can vary a lot depending upon where you want to go.

the answer to this really depends on what country you want to move to, and under what immigration law you would be eligible to live there. only once you have that can you go further into thinking about this question.