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$25,000 medical coverage and $500,000 medical evacuate


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I have done some research and noticed that most coverages are in this price range for medical. Does anyone purchase more for medical? I have traveled for years and have never ever had to use the medical on any policy I purchased. I have been lucky!

Also I have no idea how much it cost for medical evacuation. This insurance acts as primary. What do you think????

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Where is your cruise going?

IMO, $25k is not a lot of coverage for medical expense coverage. It's fine if you just have to visit the ship's doctor a time or two, or if you have to visit the ER for a few hours. But, if you have to be hospitalized for more than a day or two, and/or need surgery, I don't know of $25k is sufficient.

Depending on where you might have to be medevac'd from, $500k might or might not be enough. I may be way off base, but I have read that med evac flights are horribly expensive. Just one opinion. I'm sure you will get others.

I usually opt for more med coverage, and the med evac amount I select will depend on where we are cruising.

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I have done some research and noticed that most coverages are in this price range for medical. Does anyone purchase more for medical? I have traveled for years and have never ever had to use the medical on any policy I purchased. I have been lucky!

Also I have no idea how much it cost for medical evacuation. This insurance acts as primary. What do you think????

 

$25K for medival is pretty weak unless your regular health insurance has you covered anyway. Some do. Mine does -- it's treated like any other out-of-network service with a higher co-pay but the travel insurance picks that up.

 

$500K for the evac is fine.

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Dear friends:

 

For evacuation and repatriation coverage, make sure you read the fine print of the policy you're purchasing. Many people believe that if they're taken out of the Amazon jungle, they will be flown to New York or Miami, but that is not necessarily the case. Most policies will fly you to the nearest city where adequate, international standard medical treatment can be provided. That means that if you're rescued from the Amazon jungle, unless you have complete evacuation and repatriation coverage to your "home country", you will probably be taken to Bogotá or someplace close.

 

Also read the fine print of a policy with such low medical coverage. It might be for emergency, patch-up treatment and to get you home, at which point they will expect your own medical insurance to kick in.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

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It is so important to read all the fine print. As OP said you do not want to be pulled out of one situation to end up in another one that is not much better. Hospitals in other countries are not always what we are expecting in way of ammenities. Also in many hospitals there is basic care in public hospitals and perhaps much better care in private (and much more expensive) hospitals. Language can be a big problem and you want to be in the hospital that has Dr's etc that you can communicate with (if this is possible where you have your emergency).

 

We use a yearly membership in an evacuation medical insurance policy that covers cruises and anytime we are 150 miles away from residence. Brings us to the hospital of our choice and allows a companion to travel with us . they also offer case managers that can help locate English speaking doctors, skype consultation etc. I think it is worth it though have never had to use it at all.

 

My SIL had a bicycle accident in Rome and broke her arm in 2 places and knocked her elbow cap off. Her story of the Italian hospital (she fled) and the 18 hour economy seat journey home and the risk of blood clots she faced makes me glad I might have other options.

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We use a yearly membership in an evacuation medical insurance policy that covers cruises and anytime we are 150 miles away from residence. .

 

If it's MedJet you're using just be aware of the following from their fine print:

 

"Membership provides access to MEDJET supplied aircraft and does not include transports by helicopter or other types of transportation from remote areas or islands unable to accommodate a MEDJET."

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Sorry to hear about the Italian incident. I'm somewhat surprised, since the World Health Organization ranks Italy number 2 after France in the world's best healthcare. The United States ranks number 37. It might be scary just to be in a foreign country with a different language, or maybe the hospital itself just wasn't that good.

 

Very important to read the fine print. Usually, basic evacuation means to the nearest adequate medical facility. In some policies you can buy enhanced coverage that will give you the choice of being taken to your home country.

 

The problem might arise because insurance probably considers most Caribbean islands with the exception of Haiti and one or two others as having adequate medical facilities and care, whereas the cruise passenger might have a different opinion.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

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  • 5 weeks later...
It is so important to read all the fine print. As OP said you do not want to be pulled out of one situation to end up in another one that is not much better. Hospitals in other countries are not always what we are expecting in way of ammenities. Also in many hospitals there is basic care in public hospitals and perhaps much better care in private (and much more expensive) hospitals. Language can be a big problem and you want to be in the hospital that has Dr's etc that you can communicate with (if this is possible where you have your emergency).

 

We use a yearly membership in an evacuation medical insurance policy that covers cruises and anytime we are 150 miles away from residence. Brings us to the hospital of our choice and allows a companion to travel with us . they also offer case managers that can help locate English speaking doctors, skype consultation etc. I think it is worth it though have never had to use it at all.

 

My SIL had a bicycle accident in Rome and broke her arm in 2 places and knocked her elbow cap off. Her story of the Italian hospital (she fled) and the 18 hour economy seat journey home and the risk of blood clots she faced makes me glad I might have other options.

We're looking at health coverage for an upcoming month long cruise. May I ask the name of the company that you had coverage with.

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  • 1 month later...

Dec 1010 I was removed from the Niew Ampsterdam for life threating medical reasons. A ambulance from Costa Maya to Cancun is $1700.00 and an Med Flight from Cancun to Miami Is $33,000 Payment required up front. :mad:

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  • 1 month later...

Met a gentleman who had a stroke in air from UK to USA, whilst in hospital there he had a heart attack. Cost over £300.000 to return him to UK. Never think that it only happens to other people! Good insurance is essential, whatever region one may be in.

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  • 4 years later...
  • 4 weeks later...

After 30+ years in the Medical Insurance business (government) we really must agree with Bill S's post that $25,000 is simply not enough medical coverage. While this is fine for relatively minor issues, and major medical problem could quickly rack-up charges way above $25,000. But the $500,000 in Med Evac is a bit of a con, since even $100,000 in evac is more then enough from nearly any part of the world. In fact, evac charges will generally not exceed $25,000 even if you needed a private jet evac. So the insurance companies play a game by using a high coverage amount for evac (which they never have to pay) while offering lower med limits (which is where the major risk occurs). So, for those really concerned about the unlimited liability of major medical issues we recommend shopping around for at least $100,000 of major med coverage. We would note that very few cruise lines policies provide an adequate level of major med coverage (most are limited to only $10,000) since they are in the business of making a hefty profit on their insurance offerings and using carrots such as "cancel for any reason" as their come-on. Keep in mind that trip cancellation coverage is limited to, at most, what you paid for a trip.....while medical liability is virtually unlimited.

 

Hank

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Our Mutual Of Omaha supplement has a lifetime limit of 50k for emergency medical outside US.

 

Right - that is why additional insurance is so important for those of us on Medicare. Even $50,000 is pretty paltry for a major medical issue. Some of the medigap plans have no coverage at all out of the US.

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Right - that is why additional insurance is so important for those of us on Medicare. Even $50,000 is pretty paltry for a major medical issue. Some of the medigap plans have no coverage at all out of the US.

 

And consider that a majority of "senior" cruisers will simply buy the policy offered by their cruise line of choice...and most of these policies cap medical at only $10,000! We have been warning about this issue (here on CC and other places) for several decades....and sometimes feel like we are spitting into the wind.

 

Hank

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And consider that a majority of "senior" cruisers will simply buy the policy offered by their cruise line of choice...and most of these policies cap medical at only $10,000! We have been warning about this issue (here on CC and other places) for several decades....and sometimes feel like we are spitting into the wind.

 

Hank

Totally agree with you. Even $25,000 is paltry if overseas and are on Medicare even with supplemental plans. Just imagine the costs associated with a stroke, heart attack, fall, pneumonia etc. While we hope none of these things will happen I want a policy with enough medical coverage that I would not be put in financial distress. Plans are available --we have one from Global Alert.

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After 30+ years in the Medical Insurance business (government) we really must agree with Bill S's post that $25,000 is simply not enough medical coverage. While this is fine for relatively minor issues, and major medical problem could quickly rack-up charges way above $25,000. But the $500,000 in Med Evac is a bit of a con, since even $100,000 in evac is more then enough from nearly any part of the world. In fact, evac charges will generally not exceed $25,000 even if you needed a private jet evac. So the insurance companies play a game by using a high coverage amount for evac (which they never have to pay) while offering lower med limits (which is where the major risk occurs). So, for those really concerned about the unlimited liability of major medical issues we recommend shopping around for at least $100,000 of major med coverage. We would note that very few cruise lines policies provide an adequate level of major med coverage (most are limited to only $10,000) since they are in the business of making a hefty profit on their insurance offerings and using carrots such as "cancel for any reason" as their come-on. Keep in mind that trip cancellation coverage is limited to, at most, what you paid for a trip.....while medical liability is virtually unlimited.

 

Hank

 

When retired, Medicare is primary and BCBS is secondary. All claims must go through Medicare whether or not the charges are covered by Medicare. Therefore, when purchasing third-party travel insurance, any claim must go through Medicare which is then forwarded to BCBS and then we would submit unpaid charges to the third-party insurance. Is this correct?

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Our medical trip insurance is primary. Medicare is of no use internationally. If you have a medical issue outside the US you are responsible for any costs and will be required to pay them out of pocket. Then you submit the paid costs to the insurance company. It is important to contact the insurance company as soon as you get medical treatment.

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I have recently used https://tripinsurancestore.com/ . We are now of Medicare age and have BCBS supplemental insurance but were concerned that the medical coverage from our cruise lines plan was not enough. They were most helpful to locate what we needed for a similar cost.

I can't say enough good things about them. My DH used tripinsurancestore.com for a non-cruise, independent international trip last year. Due to a health emergency, he had to cancel less than 24 hrs before the trip. When we filed a claim with the insurance provider (trip insurance is more like a referral agency that pre-screens companies), the provider balked because one of our travel vendors refused to provide the right paperwork. (a small agency for independent travelers in Cheshire, England) Even though we had bank money transfer records, emails from the British agency with promises to send the paperwork, etc., the insurance agency was going to refuse payment. After many calls over several days that went nowhere, it occurred to me to call tripinsurancestore.com for help. They resolved my issues within a few hours and we got our full payment. The business owner, Steve, took care of this personally, and sent me a follow up email.

 

I learned something valuable from this. Having an insurance referral agent like tripsinsurancestore.com is a lifesaver in working out any problems with the insurance company. The insurance company couldn't care less about my individual case, but they wanted to keep a good relationship with tripinsurance store!

 

If you go to their website, they have a lot of information about what to consider in trip insurance. They also have a tool where you put in your information and you can run a spreadsheet comparing several companies they work with. If you have any questions, just give them a call. They really care about their customers, and they almost always answer the phone right away during business hours.

 

Believe it or not, I don't have any personal stake in this company. But they really helped me out in what was looking like a very helpless situation!

Edited by ams cruiser
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I can't say enough good things about them. My DH used tripinsurancestore.com for a non-cruise, independent international trip last year. Due to a health emergency, he had to cancel less than 24 hrs before the trip. When we filed a claim with the insurance provider (trip insurance is more like a referral agency that pre-screens companies), the provider balked because one of our travel vendors refused to provide the right paperwork. (a small agency for independent travelers in Cheshire, England) Even though we had bank money transfer records, emails from the British agency with promises to send the paperwork, etc., the insurance agency was going to refuse payment. After many calls over several days that went nowhere, it occurred to me to call tripinsurancestore.com for help. They resolved my issues within a few hours and we got our full payment. The business owner, Steve, took care of this personally, and sent me a follow up email.

 

I learned something valuable from this. Having an insurance referral agent like tripsinsurancestore.com is a lifesaver in working out any problems with the insurance company. The insurance company couldn't care less about my individual case, but they wanted to keep a good relationship with tripinsurance store!

 

If you go to their website, they have a lot of information about what to consider in trip insurance. They also have a tool where you put in your information and you can run a spreadsheet comparing several companies they work with. If you have any questions, just give them a call. They really care about their customers, and they almost always answer the phone right away during business hours.

 

Believe it or not, I don't have any personal stake in this company. But they really helped me out in what was looking like a very helpless situation!

Totally agree:)

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After 30+ years in the Medical Insurance business (government) we really must agree with Bill S's post that $25,000 is simply not enough medical coverage. While this is fine for relatively minor issues, and major medical problem could quickly rack-up charges way above $25,000. But the $500,000 in Med Evac is a bit of a con, since even $100,000 in evac is more then enough from nearly any part of the world. In fact, evac charges will generally not exceed $25,000 even if you needed a private jet evac. So the insurance companies play a game by using a high coverage amount for evac (which they never have to pay) while offering lower med limits (which is where the major risk occurs). So, for those really concerned about the unlimited liability of major medical issues we recommend shopping around for at least $100,000 of major med coverage. We would note that very few cruise lines policies provide an adequate level of major med coverage (most are limited to only $10,000) since they are in the business of making a hefty profit on their insurance offerings and using carrots such as "cancel for any reason" as their come-on. Keep in mind that trip cancellation coverage is limited to, at most, what you paid for a trip.....while medical liability is virtually unlimited.

 

Hank

 

Really good food for thought. Thanks for sharing this information.

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