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Anybody had to get emergency medical service while in another country


Unclearnie
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Did you have travelinsurance including medical coverage? Did you have trouble gettingtreatment or into the hospital? I have been talking to trip insurance sellersand they say most emergency medical coverage reimburses you once you get homeand they don't guarantee payment to the provider. My concern is gettingtreatment in a timely manner if needed. I have some really goodcredit cards, but they do have their limits...

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Pretty routine that you have to front the money for any medical costs/procedures before they begin treatment when outside the US.

 

For example, when we were in Aruba a couple years ago, one of the guests at our hotel had a son who’s appendix burst. He was transported to the hospital but laid there until his father could arrange to front the surgical & hospital costs.

 

Moral: BUY TRAVEL INSURANCE with medial transportation & hospitalization coverage so you can get reimbursed.

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I fell in St. Kitts near the ship. Had to have 8 stitches and had excellent care with Carnival's Medical team on Conquest. We had travel insurance and was reimbursed for cost of care.

 

I was charged $178 for the first visit and had to go back daily and no additional charges. We were on a B2B and this happened the 4th day. My stitches were removed just before I got off the ship at the end of 14 days. No additional charges.

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Pretty routine that you have to front the money for any medical costs/procedures before they begin treatment when outside the US.

 

For example, when we were in Aruba a couple years ago, one of the guests at our hotel had a son who’s appendix burst. He was transported to the hospital but laid there until his father could arrange to front the surgical & hospital costs.

 

Moral: BUY TRAVEL INSURANCE with medial transportation & hospitalization coverage so you can get reimbursed.

 

 

The story is a little fishy as Aruba is a Dutch Island and their socialized medicine will cover you, just like Europe. So the hospital was going to let the guy die, which can happen with an appendectomy. I agree some of the smaller Caribbean islands, might try to extort you, but you will get care. We always buy trip insurance, will a Caribbean hospital acknowledge it, no, but you will be reimbursed.

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We always travel outside the states with travel insurance (cruise or land) that includes medical (primary coverage where they will pay medical/hospital upfront first before any other insurance kicks in)...we pay a little more for that but dont want to be caught off guard as the rules are different everywhere for payment...

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We had traveling friends who had a medical emergency in Curaçao. He was taken off the ship by ambulance and transported to the local hospital. The hospital required 3 days payment in advance. It totaled around $3,000. This was supposedly for a deluxe room with air conditioning. Ha ha that didn’t happy. He was medically evacuated by air 3 days later to a hospital in Broward County in Florida. That flight was $24,900, just under the $25,000 maximum. The flight was paid directly by the insurance company so they didn’t have to front that money. However all the expenses for the spouse to stay in Curaçao and Florida were paid by credit card and eventually reimbursed to our friends. It pays to have a credit card with high limits as well as a good travel insurance policy. You just never know when things will go wrong.

 

 

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As a practice and as a convenience, most health care providers here in the US will accept and file on your behalf to your insurance company for you,,, but they are NOT required to.

 

So, don't expect a health care provider in some small Caribbean country to know who Blue Cross is or how to even process a claim.

 

Pay up front, then file for reimbursement.

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From my experience in Nassau with an appendectomy:

Travel insurance paid after the return home and the claim was filed. Everything was put on a high limit credit card prior to surgery. $10,000+

Our policy did not cover any hotel expenses but did cover the flight home.

Basically medical only.

Can’t say enough about having passports and high limit credit cards.

 

 

 

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Yes we always buy travel insurance. I was having chest pains while on a cruise last year docked in Bonaire. The ship doctor couldn't get me off of the ship fast enough. Once at the tiny Bonaire hospital, there was not anything they could do. The 24/7 travel insurance assistance helped secure a jet ambulance for a flight to Fort Lauderdale to Broward Medical for an emergency heart cath. The only payment direct from the insurance was for the jet ambulance at $25,000. All other expenses were reimbursed once claims filed. Not sure what folks who just take cash to spend would do in this type of situation.

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and if you did not have a$10,000 credit limit, then what?
v

 

You start calling your friends and family back home and spend a fortune having money wired to you.

 

Do you think if someone visiting the USA from Mexico gets treated that way and needs medical attention.m

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and if you did not have a$10,000 credit limit, then what?

 

 

 

Well actually the patient did not have enough and the charges were denied. A family member who left the cruise and stayed with the patient put the charges on their card. Travel with someone who is willing to put out that much $$$ for you I guess.

 

 

 

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As a practice and as a convenience, most health care providers here in the US will accept and file on your behalf to your insurance company for you,,, but they are NOT required to.

 

 

They ARE required to if they are in-network with your insurance. Some insurance companies go so far as requiring providers verify benefits and to collect only the patient's portion at time of service.

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You will have to front the money for medical care to the hospital/doctor... if you do not have a credit card to pay the up front charges, you will need to have a family or friend wire you money or secure it for you. You can then get reimbursement from the insurance.

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I haven't used it so can't report that it worked - but I have gotten travel medical insurance through geoblue; and they do advertise that they pay upfront and then settle up with your primary insurance when you get home.

 

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From my experience in Nassau with an appendectomy:

Travel insurance paid after the return home and the claim was filed. Everything was put on a high limit credit card prior to surgery. $10,000+

Our policy did not cover any hotel expenses but did cover the flight home.

Basically medical only.

Can’t say enough about having passports and high limit credit cards.

 

 

 

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You will have to front the money for medical care to the hospital/doctor... if you do not have a credit card to pay the up front charges, you will need to have a family or friend wire you money or secure it for you. You can then get reimbursement from the insurance.

We always purchase Travelguard gold policy as soon as we book a cruise. While on CCL Dream, dd then 17 was off-loaded in Belize with what was thought to be an appendicitis attack. Upon entering the hospital, we had to pay $500 before she was admitted. Luckily, I always clear 2 credit cards for foreign travel. I made a call to travelguard, and the first thing they asked was whether I needed money for the hospital. Three days and $5,000 later, (which I put on my credit card) we caught a plane to Florida, stayed in a hotel there, ate meals there, and then met up with dh and my other dd, who had stayed on the cruise. Upon reaching NY, I filed papers with BlueCross/BlueShield, who covered the hospital stay, and travelguard picked up all the rest of the costs - whatever BCBS did not cover, plus airfare, missed part of the cruise reimbursement, meals, hotel.

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Our regular health insurance covers up to $50,000 out of the country (and $50,000 goes a long way in most places).

 

How your treatment and transportation will be really depends upon what part of the world you are in. I happened to get sick in Sydney, Australia where the medical treatment was top notch (and the treatment for a bleeding ulcer, a 5 day hospital stay, tests, procedures, etc. cost $15,000 - 80% of which our insurance company paid.)

 

We'll be in the Amazon next month and I have no clue how they could get people to a hospital (unless you are in Manaus where they have an airport and a hospital). When we did a crossing from South Africa to Rio, there was no place to stop. By the time we arrived in Rio (going full speed for 2 days), we had three people that needed emergency treatment.

 

So, I would consider everything before purchasing insurance for medical. Whether your regular health insurance will cover treatment ......... where you will be in the world (how close to an emergency center or hospital), etc.

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We'll be in the Amazon next month and I have no clue how they could get people to a hospital (unless you are in Manaus where they have an airport and a hospital). .

 

 

I was in the Serengeti recently and any medical issues that can't be handled with a first aid kit require an air-evac to Kenya since there's no infrastructure out there. And frankly for anything serious you would probably air evac from Kenya to Europe.

 

The amazon is probably similar. Def want some travel medical for that. Something as simple as a toothache or food poisoning will get really expensive really quickly.

 

 

 

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I was in the Serengeti recently and any medical issues that can't be handled with a first aid kit require an air-evac to Kenya since there's no infrastructure out there. And frankly for anything serious you would probably air evac from Kenya to Europe.

 

The amazon is probably similar. Def want some travel medical for that. Something as simple as a toothache or food poisoning will get really expensive really quickly.

 

 

 

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Thanks much for your input!

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and if you did not have a$10,000 credit limit, then what?

 

 

Being denied a relatively small $10k credit limit suggests someone has significant financial liability - so much so that they should really rethink spending money on a cruise- even a cheap one. Subjecting one's self or family members to the possibility of being denied necessary medical care (including not having/getting international insurance coverage) is nothing less than irresponsible.

 

 

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Yes I was taken off the ship once in Japan while ship was in port for an overnight. Taken by ambulance to a private hospital where I spent several hours undergoing many tests and thankfully and later returned to the ship.

 

After returning home we submitted the paperwork including original copies of all medical bills (including the ships medical center) and were reimbursed for them a few weeks later.

 

You pay everything up front.

 

Keith

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