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Health care and health insurance costs continue to rise in the United States. For retirees living on a fixed income, it has become harder to afford health care and health insurance. Many factors contribute to the price of health insurance premiums, such as state and federal laws regulating costs, where you live, whether you get insurance through your employer, and which type of plan you choose.
According to KFF, a source for health policy research, the average annual health insurance premiums in 2024 are $8,951 for single coverage and $25,572 for family coverage. The average single coverage premium increased 6% in 2024, while the average family premium increased 7%. The average family premium has increased 24% since 2019 and 52% since 2014.
If you’re a United States citizen over 65, you probably have Medicare. However, Medicare does not cover 100% of healthcare costs in the United States, and out-of-pocket expenses keep going up.
If you have the right Medicare Advantage Plan, it DOES cover you in Panama for urgent care and emergencies! Now, several hospitals in Panama accept your Medicare Advantage without the need to prepay or file your claim. You only need to show your insurance card.
SO, WHAT’S THE SOLUTION?
Many Americans are moving to Panama to significantly reduce their living costs, including lower health care and health insurance costs.
In Panama, healthcare expenses are based on the local cost of living, much lower than in the United States or Canada. For these reasons, Panama’s healthcare and health insurance cost a small fraction of what they would cost in North America. Despite the lower costs, the quality of care is high. A routine doctor visit at their private office is only $15-$20, with no appointment necessary. Or you can go to the public hospital for only $2 to see a doctor.
Panama has a two-tier healthcare system. There are public hospitals and private (for-profit) hospitals.
NO MONTHLY FEE – PAY AS YOU GO – PUBLIC HOSPITALS
You can use the public health care system when you relocate to Panama. There is no monthly fee, no age restriction, and no restrictions for pre-existing conditions. You’ll pay about $2 to see a doctor or $5 for specialists.
A few months ago, a lady on a Panama Relocation Tour had emergency surgery at a public hospital in Chitre. She stayed in the hospital for six days, and the total cost was $150.
Many ex-pats in Panama use the public health care system instead of buying health insurance.
A neighbor was hospitalized at the public hospital in David after having a heart attack. After ten days in the public hospital, his cost was less than $900, including MRIs, CAT scans, medications, and the best cardiologists in Chiriqui Province.
With these prices, you can see why many ex-pats use the public health care system.
HEALTH INSURANCE OPTIONS
You can get health insurance that only covers you in Panama or international health insurance in Panama or any other country.
Panama insurance companies require a Covid vaccine card or a vaccine exemption letter from your doctor to get approved for health insurance in Panama.
Because health insurance is so affordable in Panama, I think it is wise to get it when you can. With a higher deductible, you can reduce your monthly or annual premium. Health insurance prices will depend on your age.
You have several choices for health insurance. Beware that “some” insurance agents in Panama will add 40-50% to the costs. I encountered that problem when an insurance broker in Boquete wanted to charge my son $2000 more than buying directly from the insurance company. Luckily, five honest insurance brokers in the Online Complete Panama Relocation Guide don’t play those games.
PANAMA ONLY INSURANCE
Some insurance companies in Panama, like Blue Cross Blue Shield, will not accept you as a new client if you are over 65. The two most popular insurance companies in Panama are Mapfre and Family Medical Plan.
MAPFRE offers Panama-only insurance or international health insurance. Mapfre has the best network of doctors and hospitals in the country. You’ll be covered for preventive medicine, 100% emergencies, hospitalization, and consultations with accessible copays, maternity, laboratories, and X-rays. You can select a higher deductible to keep your monthly premium low. Their website is only in Spanish, but if you send them an email or call, they will have an English-speaking representative contact you. A 59-year-old friend has Mapfre. She went with a $5000 deductible so her monthly premium is only $69.
FAMILY MEDICAL is one of the few insurance companies that cover pre-existing conditions (at 50%) after you’ve had insurance with them for two years. They cover 70% of most non-emergency medical costs and 100% of emergency costs. If you are over 50, they will require an EKG and lab work to get insurance. FAMILY MEDICAL will currently insure those who are less than 75. See their 2025 BROCHURE in English. More hospitals were added in 2025. Family Medical offers family discounts. Their costs are very reasonable, as you can see below:
30-39 – $51.98 per month
40-49 – $71.18 per month
50-59 – $94.30 per month
60-69 – $117.30 per month
70-75 – $146.25 per month
IMPORTANT! Most Panama and international health insurance companies will not insure you if you have pre-existing conditions. Family Medical Plan “may” insure you even if you have pre-existing conditions but they will exclude the existing conditions for two years then only cover them at 50% after that. If you are diabetic or have had cancer, they will not write a new insurance policy.
If you are older than 60, they will require a physical, EKG, and lab work before agreeing to insure you.
Insurance usually does not cover the cost of medications. Some medications cost less in Panama, but some cost more. Some medicines are not available in Panama. It would help if you determined the cost and availability of medications in Panama before deciding to move there.
You can even buy cancer insurance for as little as $63 a year! This insurance is only available for those who have never had cancer.
PANAMA CITY HEALTH INSURANCE
If you move to Panama City, you’ll have access to health insurance through several different hospitals. The Santa Fe Hospital senior health insurance plan has no age restriction!! Santa Fe Hospital is also more lenient about accepting new clients with pre-existing conditions. These are their prices for health insurance:
60-69 143.74
70-79 175.58
80-89 198.62
90 or more 231.60
*The premiums include the 15% retiree discount
LEARN MORE HERE (this webpage is only in Spanish, so you may need to open it in Chrome or another platform to translate it into English)
The insured will always be responsible for the copayment amounts corresponding to the service provided according to what is specified in the Table of Benefits. It indicates the respective procedures and copays; here are some sample co-payments:
SERVICES COPAYMENT
General medicine 5.00
Specialist 15.00
Consultation with a psychiatrist 20.00
Electrocardiogram 15.00
Laboratory and x-ray 25%
cat fifty%
Urgency 50.00
Ambulatory surgery 200.00
Ambulance (metropolitan area transport only) 50.00
Accident does not pay
Hospitalization 350.00 upon admission
(30% of all charges after the sixth day)
(50% of all charges from the twelfth day)
Laboratory tests and X-rays as an outpatient must always be ordered by an affiliated physician who has seen the insured in a medical consultation.
Santa Fe Hospital-insured will get a 25% discount on all medications.
MiniMed offers health insurance at their clinics for only $20 per month or $220 a year with a discount for your spouse. They have 14 clinics and a hospital in Panama City.
See a BROCHURE and more details HERE.
INTERNATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE
I got WorldWide Medical international health insurance through United Healthcare when I moved to Panama. At 64, I pay $2500 a year with a $500 deductible, and then I’m covered 100% up to $4,000,000 per year. International health insurance means I’m covered at any hospital or doctor in Panama or other countries. When you are 65+, the prices go up substantially for international health insurance, with a premium of $4500+. See the Worldwide Medical brochure in English here.
International health insurance plans like Cigna, or Bupa are even more expensive.
THERE IS A SOLUTION!
I found a solution for international health insurance that is a fraction of the costs at about $1400 a year! It will insure people up to 80 and even pre-existing conditions. It’s not available through any insurance broker in Panama. You can see details and insurance brokers offering this plan in the Complete Panama Relocation Guide.
Before moving to Panama, I tripped on a blanket and fell down the stairs at my house in Dallas. I damaged my eyes and had to have two eye surgeries in Texas. I thought my eyes would be excluded from my insurance in Panama, but it was not. Since moving to Panama, I have had several more eye surgeries, including a lens replacement. My international health insurance covered 100% of the cost of both surgeries in Panama.
I can honestly say that the quality of the care I got in Panama was far superior to that in the United States.
Even though I have no plans to return to the United States, when I turned 65, I decided to get Medicare. If I did not get it when I turned 65, there would be a substantial penalty to get it later.
Most Panama health insurance companies will not issue insurance until you live in Panama. You must prove that you are renting in Panama or have bought a house.
All international health insurance companies have a restriction that you must be living overseas. They will have rules about how long you can return to your home country – usually six months maximum. So, you cannot buy insurance in Panama at a much lower price and then move back to the United States to live full-time.
WARNING: Shop around for health insurance. But BEWARE that many insurance “brokers” or agents in Panama charge 30-50% more for health insurance. In the Online Panama Relocation Guide, we have recommendations for honest insurance brokers who do not play those games.
SAVE MORE!
Other savings exist when it comes to health care in Panama. It costs about $50 to get your teeth cleaned, and a dental implant costs $600. A friend had an upper and lower eye lift in Panama City for only $2000.
You can order lab work without a doctor’s prescription at any lab. I recently paid $42 for a complete lab workup, which reflected a 25% Pensionado discount.
This special Pensionado discount is valid for doctor visits, hospital stays, and prescription drugs. The Pensionado discount is for Panamanians, foreigners with a Pensionado Visa, or ex-pat women over 55 or men who are over 60 and have a residency Visa.
Many Americans are moving to Panama for more affordable healthcare and health insurance.
Unfortunately, people in the United States don’t have an affordable solution for health insurance. My healthy 40-year-old daughter would have to pay $525 monthly for insurance with a $5,000 deductible at healthcare.gov. She previously had to pay a $2000 a year penalty because she refused to pay those ridiculous prices for health insurance in Texas. With a high deductible, it is doubtful that she would ever get to use her insurance.
Many people in the U.S. are learning that very affordable health care and health insurance alternatives exist when they relocate to Panama.
Some doctors in Panama were educated in the United States, and some were board-certified. You can find any specialist in Panama that you’d find in the US, too. Many Panamanian doctors speak English.
Panama doctors put the CARE back into healthcare! They will spend as much time with you as necessary to understand your health problem and carefully explain the situation and their proposed solution.
QUALITY HOSPITALS TOO
Panama has quality hospitals.
Hospital Paitilla is affiliated with the prestigious Cleveland Clinic. San Fernando Hospital is affiliated with the well-known Tulane University Health Services Center and Hospital Clinic, Baptist Health International of Miami, and the Miami Children’s Hospital. Hospital National is run by the American Hospital Management Company, which is affiliated with the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the Kendall Medical Center in Florida.
Hospitals, medical centers, pharmacies, dental clinics, and labs are readily available in cities throughout Panama.
Prices for prescription drugs in Panama can be very low as well. They are priced for the local market. Unless you are buying an antibiotic or a narcotic, you will not need a prescription so that you can save money on unnecessary doctor visits. CLICK HERE to get a free report of the top 50 prescriptions in the US and what they cost in Panama.
WHAT ABOUT MEDICARE OR TRICARE?
Certain Medicare Advantage plans will cover emergencies and urgent care in Panama. Our ex-pat Medicare Advantage insurance specialist can help you get the right Medicare Advantage plan.
Now, Medicare Advantage is accepted at several hospitals without pre-paying.
The Canadian Health System does not cover medical costs outside Canada unless you’re from Ontario. Ontario has a unique medical plan covers you for up to seven months outside of Canada.
Retired US military veterans and 100% disabled veterans are eligible for free medical and prescriptions in Panama through the VA or Tricare. Learn more about Veteran Benefits Here
Como No? This is a popular phrase in Panama. It means WHY NOT.
With more affordable health care, health insurance, and the lower cost of living in Panama, COMO NO relocate to Panama?
It’s worth checking out Panama to see how you can reduce your health care and health insurance costs. Plus, you’ll discover how you can LIVE BETTER for LESS.
Our Online Panama Relocation Guide has the same information as on a 7-night Panama Relocation Tour. You’ll receive detailed information about various health insurance companies, including their direct contact information. You’ll learn about Visa options, finding a rental, where to get affordable health insurance, how to bring your pets to Panama, and much more! The Online Panama Relocation Guide has information to help you do a self-guided tour of Panama, plus contacts if you’re interested in a private tour guide.
Or, if you’d prefer to explore Panama with like-minded people, consider a 6-day, 7-night all-inclusive Panama Relocation Tour!
Since 2010, we’ve helped thousands of people relocate to Panama seamlessly.
We’re the Panama Relocation Experts!
We have the experience you can trust!
