It's good to be "old" in Rio......kkkkkk

@Gasparzinho 777 Well you ought to get something for surviving 57 years there 

    Lei 7.916/2018 was changed yesterday to now reflect the age for preferential senior citizen rights in the state of RJ from 60 down to 57.......I am 57......
Can't wait to park in a shopping mall now........heh.

In addition to which you get to use the special line in airports, banks, stores......etc......free admission to state owned museums. Half price cinema and theatre, free transit access......over 17 things.

My father in law will be happy as we used to make him go thru the same line with our purchases if a store was busy at the time.
   

    -@Gasparzinho 777

Lure tactics, or c'mon down tactics to attract Senior Citizen Dollars, and no less.  You are getting sucked in.

Rio's  public health care is a shit show. Always as been so. 

My region grants free quality health care to senior citizens, and free public bus fares as well..

Check it out...

Grande ABC.. 

Still, Golden age tourists want the beach coming life, we can't match that. 

Give Santa Catarina's and Rio Grande do Sul coastal communities, or our Santos-SP a try, if beach is your thiing, and you still quality health care delivery. 

I've traveled to Rio over 60 times since 2000.........and seen a fair bit of Brasil as well from Natal down to Sampa.

Gotta have a beach to walk to, that was absolutely not negotiable.

If I need SUS a 45 minute drive to Petropolis does the trick. You get seen in 15 minutes there most of the time. Otherwise, we've got our private doctors in Rio that we've used for years.

FWIW there is a SUS behind my apartment building in Copa, the lines are always enormous all day long.

@Gasparzinho 777 My wife and l are headed there now for a couple of weeks to visit her family. We are  in Miami at the moment. Will be boarding the flight to Rio in about 15 minutes 

SUS is a joke,, and more so in Rio than anywhere else in the country.  I recall mentioning this, the quality of health care through SUS varies depending where you are based of. 

What folks do not understand is that  SUS ( Single Payer Free Health Care )  is the bottom rung type of care you can be granted upon. Since the Brazilian  poverty strata is quite large ( and more so in Rio ) , then there are more beneficiaries than the system can handle. Couple that with fraud, you get a perfect recipe for substandard basic care. 

SUS improved quite a lot under Lula, yet, it is still substandard if you match it against Japan's the European Unit at large, even Canada. 

There is a reason why medical insurance brokers do quite well in this country. You can literally walk into a small hole in the wall type of office retail location and sign up for some  paid subscription medical plan. 

Petropolis is an hour climb, but if you are not in a tight spot, then it might just do. Up in the mountain range, low crime area, and exceptional wheather.  Can't go wrong. Petropolis, Vassouras too. 

It's better than in Canada IMHO.......based on my access in Petropolis.......would never use Rio. We pay our doctor in Rio privately.

09/21/23  SUS is great for vaccinations, pretty good for emergency care.  I would recommend that any expat who can afford it -- and anyone else who can afford it -- have a Brazilian supplemental private plan for anything more serious or complex.  Check local ratings, since reputations of plans from the same company have different reputations in different regions.  Most private plans have staged waiting periods with full benefits only available 9-12 months after enrollment, so it's good to enroll while still healthy, before there's a big need.

A SUS is good for you to actually go the local community health clinic for...

1.Vacines

2.Ordering checkup exams

3.Collect Free Prescription Drugs

As for

1.Medical Procedures

2.Getting properly diagnosed and with accurate prescriptions...

3.Dealing with the Cattle Pen treatment dispensed to patients ( long waits, subpart facilties )

Stay clear from it. 

@sprealestatebroker Canada's  health care has gone to absolute shit. Fewer dr's, hospital beds down, surgeons down. 2+ yr wait for surgeries. Emergency  wait times are mostly 8+ min hours unless yer bleeding out all over the place. Quality of care has gone to shit.

This is just one of the many reasons why we returned to Brasil.

Everything in your post is 100% spot on.

@Gasparzinho 777

we are having issues with hallway healthcare in canada. and if you do need a surgery, the wait lists depending on the required surgery can go from 3 months to you dying from your ailment due to wait times lol. totally there was a point where it was good, now the only free portion of the healthcare is in emergency rooms outside of that its all out of pocket

    @sprealestatebroker Canada's  health care has gone to absolute shit. Fewer dr's, hospital beds down, surgeons down. 2+ yr wait for surgeries. Emergency  wait times are mostly 8+ min hours unless yer bleeding out all over the place. Quality of care has gone to shit.
   

    -@Cserebogar

In the USA, I worked in Nuclear Medicine. A high percentage of my patients were Canadian

I had serious A-fib in my heart due to a thyroid problem back in 2010 My doctor here said 18-24 months to see a specialist. I could have easily had a stroke or worse.

Was at our place in Rio 2 months later. Phoned one of the top cardiologists, paid $200 USD for an appointment 2 days later. Had a battery of tests done on the third day for another $150 USD equivalent.

Returned to Canada and put the file of tests on my doctor's desk. He shit his pants !!! Called the specialist at the U of C immediately in front of me, and I was in and treated a week later.

Can't do in "Kanaduh" what I did in Brasil. because of the evil mentality regarding socialized medicine that prevails up here.

  Can't do in "Kanaduh" what I did in Brasil. because of the evil mentality regarding socialized medicine that prevails up here.        -@Gasparzinho 777

My background in the USA is mostly in cancer and in science having earned five degrees. When it was time for my own cancer surgery, I left the USA and went to Brazil to have it done. In SP, I have received nothing but top-shelf medical care.   Originally, I am from Iceland, the land of basically free education and complete socialized medicine. When it comes to any serious medical care, Icelanders too leave their own country. I believe Brazil can supply world-class medical skills and help to those seeking it.

100%, ive had nothing short of amazing experience with dentistry in brazil. canada - the dentists there ruined my teeth so much when i came down. dentist in brazil pointed out the reasons why my health was poor. fixed it. man. just 3 hours of my life for years of suffering from canadas bad dentistry methods -.-

    100%, ive had nothing short of amazing experience with dentistry in brazil. canada - the dentists there ruined my teeth so much when i came down. dentist in brazil pointed out the reasons why my health was poor. fixed it. man. just 3 hours of my life for years of suffering from canadas bad dentistry methods -.-
   

    -@Mikeflanagan

I have a truly wonderful Dentist, oral surgeon in SP, he's great.

We couldn't believe that our dentist in Brasilia actually cleaned our teeth, and spent an hour doing it. No work performed by a dental hygienist. The dental assistant simply handed him his instruments on queue. Totally outfitted with the latest technology. So amazing that our adult children had their teeth cleaned by him as well for US$80 each. We won't be using US dentists again.

@Gasparzinho 777 WoW, that is good news. I have had to tackle the passport line at the airport in Sao Paulo, many times.  Wait is this only in Rio.?

Roddie in Retirement

Hey Roddie

It's Rio de Janeiro state only.

@Gasparzinho 777

I guess many of us here are over the hill now.

Feel special yet? haha

I know about the 50% off movie tickets, but you mentioned free transit?

Can you drop a note one day about the transit?

Thanks

You'll probably need to get another piece of ID called a "cartao idoso" which you flash to the guy who collects fares on the bus......and it probably will have a code you scan to enter the metro. Not exacyly sure, just passing on what my wife said.

    You'll probably need to get another piece of ID called a "cartao idoso" which you flash to the guy who collects fares on the bus......and it probably will have a code you scan to enter the metro. Not exacyly sure, just passing on what my wife said.
   

    -@Gasparzinho 777

Not sure how it works in Rio, but if your bus has a driver who doubles as a far collector, these days, you show a piece of a photo ID, and they scan you through the turnstiles.   A fare might cost R$ 5,00. .   

Another expedient, is , being white haired, they let you in through the exit door, no scan through.,

A sure bet is to head out to City Hall

City Hall

Rua Afonso Cavalcanti, 455

Cidade Nova - Rio de Janeiro - RJ

CEP 20211-111

Phone   1746 amd  (21) 3460-1746  ( toll free )

Secretaria de Estado de Direitos Humanos e Políticas para Mulheres e Idosos - SEDHMI  ( Elderly and Women Authority)

Escritório do governo do estado no Rio de Janeiro

Endereço: Av. Erasmo Braga, 118 - 9° andar - Centro, Rio de Janeiro - RJ, 20020-000

Telefone: (21) 2334-5500

Call first to be redirected. I would not navigate through portals. AS often as in Brazil, they are poorly designed and don't work.

When we're leaving Rio this past Monday night, they made an announcement that all passengers 60 years old or older could board first. That was a nice surprise.

    Lei 7.916/2018 was changed yesterday to now reflect the age for preferential senior citizen rights in the state of RJ from 60 down to 57.......I am 57......
Can't wait to park in a shopping mall now........heh.

-@Gasparzinho 777

I got my old fart parking card at DETRAN last year, I love it, especially in the rain. On my last trip out of GRU on Air Canada, they too boarded older farts first. I loved it

@rraypo

I got mine from the local town hall - no need to go to Detran! As well as the usual ID proof, they wanted a utility bill for address, but that was about all. Never use it on the island (no need) but in cities and shopping malls it is really useful... especially in the covered areas of outdoor parking where shade from the sun is really nice!

Can't do in "Kanaduh" what I did in Brasil. because of the evil mentality regarding socialized medicine that prevails up here.
   

    -@Gasparzinho 777

Is the health care in Brasil universal or tiered system?  I seem to read that it is a tiered system - i.e. if you pay more, you can get the best care.

What is the recommendation to get the best care?

10/05/23 Is the health care in Brasil universal or tiered system?  I seem to read that it is a tiered system - i.e. if you pay more, you can get the best care.
What is the recommendation to get the best care?
   -@Pablo888

It's universal basic care, and very definitely tiered beyond that.  The public system, SUS, balances the conflict between limited funding and unlimited demand the way that most public systems do -- triage and wait lists. 

Anyone who can afford it has supplementary private insurance, which in many cases operates like a HMO in the US:  the patient is attended by the plan doctors in plan clinics, has most tests run in plan laboratories and imaging centers, and preferentially goes to plan hospitals for in-patient care.  The plans contract with private practitioners and hospitals for services that they cannot perform, so there is some interface with the purely private system.  There's also some interface with the public system, since many doctors are contracted both by SUS and by one or more private plans.  Sometimes a plan doctor will have a patient stop by for a follow-up at SUS during the doctor's SUS hours, or for particular services.  When a member of our extended family was treated for cancer, she received most of her care at the plan clinic, but her radiation therapy at a private hospital under a contract with the plan, and her chemotherapy at the SUS cancer hospital.

Some of the more expensive plans have more choice of doctors and hospitals, and boutique and concierge medicine certainly exist for the very rich over and above anything else.  The concierge industry operates largely outside the public view, but on rare occasions it appears in the press, as when Bolsonaro goes here for his follow-up surgeries:

https://www.rededorsaoluiz.com.br/star/vilanovastar

There also numerous cases of patients with plans, dying in the hospital while waiting for approval of treatment, and some plans are currently financially in serious trouble at present.

The cheapest and best copay coverage we found was R$1500 per month per person. My friends who are doctors here pay R$15,000 per month for two adults in Campinas.

In ten years, the cheapest plan is R$360,000 before compound interest is entered into the equation......so R$400,000 "joga fora".......you can buy a pretty nice basic residence for that amount easily.

We are going to self fund with our own investments, and use SUS outside of Rio as required. I'm 57.......when I am 77 we can worry, but for now, barring major brain surgery, we have enough set aside for health.

FWIW my wife worked in health care in Brasil for 20 years. All our friends are doctors, etc. Brasilian hospitals are notorious for overcharging plan holders, just like in America. Pay cash and negotiate the bill if you can do so.

    @rraypoI got mine from the local town hall - no need to go to Detran! As well as the usual ID proof, they wanted a utility bill for address, but that was about all. Never use it on the island (no need) but in cities and shopping malls it is really useful... especially in the covered areas of outdoor parking where shade from the sun is really nice!        -@Peter Itamaraca

I was in my DETRAN anyway, but I have also since learned that many shopping malls have kiosks to provide this service too. I know of at least one mall in Sao Jose do Rio Preto that has such a kiosk, I have been to it with friends