Yup - same here - not from the US. One of the reasons I posted this ( apart from seeking advice) was that it would be good to make others aware of this so they can plan ahead. It's not an issue for staff 'returning home' to a country with a national health service or subsidised health care or an insurance provider already in place, but I'm not sure I will ever be 'returning home' and may well always live in countries where I'll need some sort of insurance. Like many 'career xpats' I left for a year's experience working abroad, loved the life and 17 years later still have no intentions of going home.

As a veteran int. school teacher ( 15+ years in various countries) I’ve always had a group/company health insurance policy. It didn’t occur to me til lately that if I stop working for international schools and need to take out my own policy at some point, it will be at a much later than average age, so that any preexisting conditions I might have by then, will be excluded and/or the premiums will be collossal. It’s therefore probably a good idea for me to take one out my own now, before anything serious is wrong, and hope that I can convince my school to either pay for that instead of my share of their company one or allocate me the equivalent funds instead so that I can top up. Has anyone else here done this? Can anyone recommend one?