This volume is the result of a year-long policy research project investigating the feasibility of extending Medicare coverage in some form to beneficiaries of the program who live in Mexico. It is the fourth in a series of research projects that have touched on this ongoing topic over the last nine years. The book examines the present limitations on Medicare and Medicaid coverage, reviews the cost of living, incomes, and present health care structures available to Americans currently living in Mexico, and details options for extending Medicare benefits to Mexico and the issues involved in implementing such coverage. It includes case studies of retiree communities in San Miguel in Central Mexico, Guadalajara and Lake Chapala, and the portion of Baja California that extends from Tijuana to south of Ensenada. The principal conclusion is that a research and demonstration waiver should be granted by the Health Care Financing Administration to test the impact on cost quality of care and access to care of covering services in Mexico for these beneficiaries.
