Smitheroo

I realize that is the general opinion however there was one person here commenting that his family member received care (expensive) that a local would never receive probably because of perceived wealth. (being an American) Whether or not this person needed a plastic surgeon (which added to the expense, but on the other hand you would probably want a plastic surgeon where the face is involved) wouldnt matter. If the care was received, payment would be expected. Overall the cost of medical care is thought to be less outside the US but specific examples would need to be considered

Is a CruiseFIRST certificate considered to be a "first payment" for a cruise? It seems to take the place of a deposit. I notice on my reservation the "total price" of the cruise is not what I will end up paying as the CruiseFIRST certificate doesnt seem to applied at that point. (the amount due is lower, by the amount of the CruiseFIrst certificate) I'm asking this for travel insurance purposes

Your decision made sense! I would do that now. Back then I didnt know enough

Phew, good information ! I got very nervous at the suggestion that Medicare is not a qualified primary plan in the eyes of GeoBlue. But thinking about it, they ask your age and most people over 65 have medicare (I know there are some other routes to coverage) so it would be ridiculous for them not to consider Medicare a qualified primary plan

I will look into that source of information

I think this is referring ot the Trip Protection that airlines offer. "Yes, I want my trip protection" or "No, I am willing to risk...." Those policies usually have a small amount of medical expense coverage. I'm wondering if it is required of them to include that because it is pitifully inadequate for medical expense coverage.

Your supplemental plan is also Medicare. If it does pay the first 80% of the cost, that would be it. "Medicare" would not pick up the other 20% because the supplement is Medicare. It is a "Medicare Supplement Plan"

would you share the name of those companies?

That is a very small amount of insurance for medical expenses even outside of the US. Sure, it will be adequate if you sprain an ankle or maybe get norovirus. But anything major, nope. It wont cost you a ton of money to get better insurance coverage. Very worthwhile to do a some research. I also found that increasing your deductible for medical travel insurance doesnt decrease the premium by that much.

I'm assuming you mean that you will check with your insurance company, to be sure. Airlines do offer trip insurance but anytime I've looked into it the medical coverage is minimal. Unfortunately actual medical costs are never minimal.

I think its risky to rely on one person's experience

I didnt see a GeoBlue multitrip plan offering 500,000/250,000. Probably because of my age, over 70.

I dont know, it would be quite difficult for you to travel alone with your leg in a cast.

Looking at your signature- Yeah, it was the Expedia travel agent who insisted that my health insurance (without knowing who the provider was) would not cover me out of the U.S. He was wrong. Of course, I never tested it so I dont know for sure.

It depends on your situation. I cruised in 2013 after never having to worry about health insurance (I was a child on previous trips). The travel agent I used warned me "your health insurance will not cover you the minute you step off US Soil" I called my husband's employer's HR department who told me that I would be covered exactly as I was if I were in the US (which was excellent, and this obviously depends on your health insurance) The person I spoke to said to try to get the bill in English. If you are on Original Medicare the only international medical coverage is by your Medicare Supplement if you have one. I have Plan F, which is top of the line, and have a $50,000 *lifetime* foreign medical expense coverage. I dont know about foreign but in the US $50,000 might not get you out of the ER one time. I have no idea how Medicare Advantage plans work for this. So, my experience is that some health insurance providers do cover out of the US and the best way to find out is to call them if you are unsure.

I *think* it would be okay to have two travel insurance policies. Like "mom" said, it would not be okay to make a duplicate claim to each. Not sure how they determine which would be primary and which would be secondary

Yes, I have been advised in the past not to use the company associated with the company providing your travel arrangements. I have in the past, no longer do. I also found that you get more coverage for your money from independent insurers

I think it depends on the location of your travel. Evacuation from land (not a sea emergency that would involve the Coast Guard) from a place like Antartica could be expensive. It cost my daughter's health insurance almost $100,000 to fly her from one location to another in California (because the first hospital didnt have a NICU) that was just a few hours away by car. There might not be a hospital equipped to care for your problem close to Antartica.

Will you share the name of the company who required the call first? I've often read requirements for coverage that include that emergency situations are often exempt from some of the rules. A medicare age person falling and blood everywhere should be classified as an "emergency" and not require you to call first. I can see where if you have the symptoms of norovirus they would expect you to call first. So knowing the name of this unreasonable insurance company would be useful.

I'm curious to know if your United Health Care policy was an Original Medicare Supplement (not connected to a Medicare Advantage Plan) and what the hospital bill was. I ask this because my Medicare Supplement (Plan F, so top of the line) has a $50,000 international lifetime limit. I know $50,000 wouldnt go very far in the US. I am looking at GeoBlue which offers a single trip plan for one for about $200 that has 1,000,000 medical expense limit and 500,000 evac. Interestingly, their multi trip plan only has 100,000 medical expenses. Its not that much more than the single trip plan but you can see it has much lower medical expense benefits. Why do these decisions always seem to require extensive research?

Do you have any ideas why this is the case?

That is what I am looking for. If medical coverage is minimal you would think the price of the policy wouldnt be that great. Apparently not how it is! While looking for trip cancellation insurance *only* I've found policies for that with minimal medical that cost as much as a policy with robust medical coverage. For someone with Medicare (and not relying on the minimal coverage provided by Medicare supplements) you need robust coverage ( i.e. 1,000,000 medical, 500,000 evac) I can get this from GeoBlue for about the same amount of money as a policy that includes trip cancellation and minimal medical from another company. This doesnt make sense ( I guess its a mistake to assume it will make sense) GeoBlue has some travel interruption coverage in their single trip plan but I'm not sure about cancellation from the start. WIll have to do more research. I would appreciate any advice from personal experience.

I booked the cruise for Vancouver to Tokyo on the Spirit! At first I thought that was a lot of airfare East Coast to Vancouver and then Tokyo back but I'm going to work it into a California vacation to visit family.

I saw that! I'm wondering if I should cancel my 12 days to Italy in April 2024. I cant do one in April and then one in May due to my dog requiring a dog sitter. that sure would be an easy way to see Japan I'll have to think about it. Final payment for the Italy cruise isnt due till 12/9

When purchasing a travel insurance plan it asks for the date of first payment when considering pre-existing conditions coverage. My question is does the date that you applied your CruiseFIRST certificate to the booking considered to be the date of first payment? I booked on 10/15 and applied a $500 CruiseFirst certificate. I assumed that was my "deposit" since nothing else was asked for. Final payment to be made 9 Dec 2023.