Health Care in Costa Rica and Residency requiremen

[vivian]

My husband and I want to buy a home in Costa Rica and keep out home in Florida. Our intention is to retire there and come back to the states occasionally. Since the health care system is in such sad shape here in the US, we are looking into residency requirements in Costa Rica to qualify for health care. I understand that there are two plans, one for locals of CR and one for everyone else. That’s not a problem, we don’t mind paying a fair price for health insurance but we can’t seem to get a clear answer on how that would work. Does anyone know if we purchase a home in CR are we required to live there at least 4 months out of a year to establish residency and then can we purchase the government health insurance.
Thx Vivian

[DavidCMurray]

To maintain “pensionado” residency status (at least) you must be in Costa Rica four months a year.

Once you have residency, you can enroll in the CAJA medical care system run by the Costa Rican social security system. The monthly premium is based upon your income.

You can also purchase one of two health care policies offered by INS. The costs depend on the extent of the coverage which you opt for. The INS programs do not cover pre-existing conditions, however.

[wmaes47]

This is a very informative read on the health care system:

http://www.cocori.com/library/life/med1.htm

[dh6721]

Does the 4 months per year have to be a continuous month,
or can it be a few weeks here and there for a total of
16 – 17 weeks? dh6721

[Author]

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