As I face the prospect of retirement coming up this is the biggest thing that ways on my mind. This is akin to Warren's financial weapons of mass destruction comment back in 2004. And the main problem- for me at least- is that it makes the US the most unattractive place to retire. Health care costs are insane ...


As a Canadian this flies in the face of my understanding of the US health care system - don't you get Medicare once you're 65? Perhaps Medicare standards are not up to standards in the private health care sector, but then again, if you're comparing the US with other countries as a place to retire, you should be comparing Medicare to other countries' public health care systems, like the care available in provinces in Canada or countries in Europe. My impression is that, while you won't get an MRI for a sore knee in Medicare, you won't get one in Canada either, and probably not in Germany.

So an alternative to consider, that Munger would probably agree with is, lower your standards. Medicare will take care of most of what's important, and you can live without the rest, if it's too expensive, amirite? And if you don't like the US system, how are you going to get health care outside of the US anyways, as a non-citizen?

DTB