Out of Country Medicial Insurance for Canadians

[YoHoHo]

On TV news just tonight, CDN woman in Washington state w/o out of county insurance, 10 minutes from return to the border gets broadsided. Severe medical emergency. Several weeks & $650,000 she is back in Canada. Minimal coverage by her provincial insurance.

 

I have family in Washington. On last visit to nephew's graduation for the first time we did buy short visit insurance (RBC). Will now be buying annual policy along with Medijet type coverage.

 

We too have purchased policies for our cruises (mainly to ensure per-existing medical is covered - no interest in cancellation) through tripinsurancestore. Usually at final payment. I have contacted them regarding a claim that I needed some help with (lost document, who's first, etc) and they were incredibly helpful and personal service.

 

I think different vendors have different policies even from the same supplier. So a ABC 'deluxe' policy from one vendor can have coverage difference from the a ABC policy from an another vendor. Makes it harder to compare prices. Look at the coverage details that are important to you.

Edited November 22, 2013 by YoHoHo

[burm]

In the United States, it has been illegal since 1986 for a Hospital to refuse to treat an Emergency Room Patient, regardless of insurance:

http://www.ascensionhealth.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=146&Itemid=172

Considering that the penalties to a Hospital which denies treatment may be as severe as revocation of its' credentials to accept Medicare, it seems unlikely that the story that your husband "heard" was accurate.

 

No American Hospital would take that risk in order to avoid setting a broken limb, never mind THREE of them.

 

Does that apply to foreigners seeking assistance in American hospitals?

 

The old lady (her husband was with her) could have been confused in some of the details, but the fact remains that she came home untreated because the hospitals did not have an agreement with the CAA insurance provider. Of that there is no doubt.

 

She was likely told that, as the hospitals did not have an agreement with her provider, that she would have to pay up front. She was no doubt afraid of ending up with bills that she could not afford to pay (we have all heard the horror stories).

 

In any case, I plan to stick with my universally accepted insurance provider-and I will also ready my policy from front to back. As Lyn suggested, this lady probably naively believed that once she paid for insurance, she could walk in and out of the hospital without paying a cent, as she would at home.

[JimandStan]

Does that apply to foreigners seeking assistance in American hospitals?

 

Yes, it most definitely does:

 

"to ensure that acutely ill patients who are uninsured or under-insured receive appropriate emergency care and to prevent hospitals from refusing to treat certain populations of patients who present to the emergency department"

 

Further specifics may be gleaned at this link:

 

http://www.ascensionhealth.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=146&Itemid=172

 

In fact, I'm somewhat surprised that most Canadians aren't already aware of this Law as the cost of medical treatment for non U.S. Citizens has been at the, shall we say forefront of our political news for the past several years, now.

 

I understand that you'd like to think kindly of this ill woman, but it seems irresponsible to paint the Hospital as the villain(s) if she herself decided to return home without treatment when she knew that she had a valid Insurance Policy in place.

 

Naïveté, frugality, preferring to be treated in a familiar setting, there are a dozen reasons why she may have made that decision, without the hospital refusing treatment, and considering what the Hospitals had to lose, I honestly cannot believe that they did.

 

 

[burm]

Yes, it most definitely does:

 

"to ensure that acutely ill patients who are uninsured or under-insured receive appropriate emergency care and to prevent hospitals from refusing to treat certain populations of patients who present to the emergency department"

 

Further specifics may be gleaned at this link:

 

http://www.ascensionhealth.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=146&Itemid=172

 

In fact, I'm somewhat surprised that most Canadians aren't already aware of this Law as the cost of medical treatment for non U.S. Citizens has been at the, shall we say forefront of our political news for the past several years, now.

 

I understand that you'd like to think kindly of this ill woman, but it seems irresponsible to paint the Hospital as the villain(s) if she herself decided to return home without treatment when she knew that she had a valid Insurance Policy in place.

 

Naïveté, frugality, preferring to be treated in a familiar setting, there are a dozen reasons why she may have made that decision, without the hospital refusing treatment, and considering what the Hospitals had to lose, I honestly cannot believe that they did.

 

 

 

 

I believe this is the key point:

 

 

"to ensure that acutely ill patients who are uninsured or under-insured receive appropriate emergency care and to prevent hospitals from refusing to treat certain populations of patients who present to the emergency department"

 

 

A broken arm would not be considered "acutely ill".

 

For the average person, being afraid of receiving a bill equal to more than their annual income is not a matter of frugality.

 

I am not condemning your hospitals or medical system. I am simply warning Canadians to do some research before buying medical insurance, know who they are dealing with and what to expect in case of emergency.

[LHT28]

As Lyn suggested, this lady probably naively believed that once she paid for insurance, she could walk in and out of the hospital without paying a cent, as she would at home.

I think that is probably the case

 

Many yrs ago MIL went to the hospital in Fla & was admitted for a day...

$3000 later ..they paid & the bills were submitted to their insurance company for full refund

Thanks goodness their SIL bought the travel ins for them

I am sure Dad would not have spent the money on it ;)

 

We up here in the north are just used to a different system & when we are older may not even think about the difference in medical in the USA or elsewhere

 

JMO

 

Lyn

[burm]

I was wondering how much it would typically cost to repair a broken arm and without doing a great deal of research, this is what I came up with, although obviously costs can vary greatly. Such treatment would not be considered life threatening, so the hospital could definitely refuse to treat the uninsured.

 

 

•Without health insurance, surgical treatment of a broken arm typically costs $16,000 or more. For example, surgical treatment of a fracture of the humerus (upper arm bone) costs about $14,911, not including the surgeon fee, at Baptist Memorial Health Care in Memphis, Tennessee. A typical surgeon fee for surgical treatment of a fracture could reach $2,000 or more, according to Carolina Orthopaedic Surgery Associates.

 

If the hospital insisted on "payment up front or go elsewhere", many people might not have a credit limit sufficiently high to cover the cost, especially when they might have a large amount of other holiday related expenses already charged to the card. I have read that the average consumer has an average total credit card limit of about $19,000.

[JimandStan]

Sorry, but the term "acute" does not translate to "life threatening".

 

In medical terminology, it is merely a differentiation from chronic and critical.

 

A broken limb which needed to be set, because it would not resolve itself naturally if untreated, WOULD be considered acute in an American Hospital setting, therefore the law DID and Does apply.

 

Something is very awry with this story.

Edited November 22, 2013 by JimandStan
punctuation correction

[CanadaTraveller]

 

In fact, I'm somewhat surprised that most Canadians aren't already aware of this Law as the cost of medical treatment for non U.S. Citizens has been at the, shall we say forefront of our political news for the past several years, now.

 

 

I honestly don't think there would be many Canadians aware of this law, as we are all insured in our country, and would not be thinking of seeking treatment in the US.

 

If I understand the law correctly, the obligation of the hospital (and only those that accept federal funds for Medicaid and Medicare) would be to stabilize the patient without insurance. To stabilize a fracture, one wouldn't necessarily need to set and cast.

 

If presented with that type of option and having your insurance rejected, I am thinking that a Canadian would be a bit confused. We go to hospital, present our health card and are treated. Costs are never part of the discussion. Buying travel insurance gives us the comfort that our costs and treatment are covered out of country, like at home. So if the hospital only agreed to stabilize, I think I would be high tailing it back home.

 

We will never know the interactions in this case, but it does reinforce the need to purchase good travel insurance.

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[freedom750]

Thanks for the discussion on this topic. I didn't know about CARP yesterday and today I'm a member and am also getting the Zoomer periodical. Also found good insurance rates on this site. Thanks again!

[freedom750]

I will hit the 65 mark this summer and I noticed that my credit cards say that travel insurance is not covered after age 65. I have a couple of cruises booked with one of those credit cards (final payment is not due yet).

Is there a Credit Card in Canada that includes travel cancellation insurance for people over 65? My work covers medical but not cancellation insurance.

[LHT28]

I will hit the 65 mark this summer and I noticed that my credit cards say that travel insurance is not covered after age 65. I have a couple of cruises booked with one of those credit cards (final payment is not due yet).

Is there a Credit Card in Canada that includes travel cancellation insurance for people over 65? My work covers medical but not cancellation insurance.

 

I have not seen any that cover trip cancellation...

some cover "trip interuption"

You would need to search all the different cards

 

I just use one of the travel ins companies like RBC, Manulife, Global ..maybe your one for medical have trip cancellation.

 

Insuremytrip.ca may work for you

Be sure to read all the fine print no matter who you choose

 

Good luck

 

Lyn

Edited February 1, 2014 by LHT28

[Wendy The Wanderer]

To the OP, have you looked at the Canadian Snowbird Association plans? Now I know that they specialize in longer-term policies, so not sure how they compare for short-term, but worth a try.

 

We have good travel insurance as a retirement benefit from my husband's company. Since we snowbird in Florida, this saves us a lot of money.

 

I think if I broke my arm, I'd give them a credit card, and if my credit limit wasn't high enough, I'd give them two. Or write them a cheque and worry about reimbursement later.

[freedom750]

Thanks for the tip. I'll check them out.

[canuck.qc]

I have not seen any that cover trip cancellation...

some cover "trip interuption"

You would need to search all the different cards

 

I just use one of the travel ins companies like RBC, Manulife, Global ..maybe your one for medical have trip cancellation.

 

Insuremytrip.ca may work for you

Be sure to read all the fine print no matter who you choose

 

Good luck

 

Lyn

Hi Lyn

The RBC Avion CC NOW includes 'Trip Cancellation' along with the Trip Interruption. The MasterCard World CC also includes BOTH. There is an extra cost to those over 65..I will get back to you with the exact upcharge as we are in the process of preping for our cruise next month.

We had a medical indecent last Sept on a tour (cost $350ish) RBC paid in full & very prompt.

[LHT28]

Hi Lyn

The RBC Avion CC NOW includes 'Trip Cancellation' along with the Trip Interruption. The MasterCard World CC also includes BOTH. There is an extra cost to those over 65..I will get back to you with the exact upcharge as we are in the process of preping for our cruise next month.

We had a medical indecent last Sept on a tour (cost $350ish) RBC paid in full & very prompt.

 

I do not use the CC insurance so no worries ;)

 

I asked on one CC about getting repair to some damaged luggage but had to claim on house ins then submit the difference .

I called HEYS they repaired the bag free of charge

Read the fine print :)

Edited February 1, 2014 by LHT28

[tropicalkerry2002]

We have this card, and it has cancellation/interruption insurance that appears to cover over 65.(the pre-existing condition period is longer over age 75)

 

However, it only covers $1000 per person per insured trip, which doesn't help much on an O cruise.

 

i have phoned to see if we could get increased coverage and the answer was no.

 

It even states in the booklet that if your trip exceeds the amount listed for coverage, speak to your TA or another supplier for excess coverage.

 

We used TravelGuard for cancellation/interruption for our upcoming cruise.

 

Canuck, please let me know what the limit per trip is with your RBC Avion. Thanks.

[Lola911]

I will hit the 65 mark this summer and I noticed that my credit cards say that travel insurance is not covered after age 65. I have a couple of cruises booked with one of those credit cards (final payment is not due yet).

Is there a Credit Card in Canada that includes travel cancellation insurance for people over 65? My work covers medical but not cancellation insurance.

 

Freedom,

 

We have been using PACIFIC BLUE CROSS for years and have had claims (doc visits in US) handled very promptly. We buy a yearly TRAVEL INSURANCE (out of province) 30-day policy and when we are travelling over the 30 days I dial them and top up with more days. Very easy. When we pay in full for our cruises I phone within 72 hours of the non-refundable deposit and buy TRIP CANCELLATION OR INTERRUPTION BENEFIT (this is an all in one). The cost is based on the total amount of your cruise, airfare, hotels you have paid up front. We think the coverage is excellent and I deal with same person there all the time. We are in our 60's and I too will be 65 this year. One thing we like also is their health questions begin with "in the past 6-months". My premium went up a little bit for cancer treatment, but once you are free of all treatments, etc. in a 6-month time period you can then answer 'no'.

[canuck.qc]

We have this card, and it has cancellation/interruption insurance that appears to cover over 65.(the pre-existing condition period is longer over age 75)

 

However, it only covers $1000 per person per insured trip, which doesn't help much on an O cruise.

 

i have phoned to see if we could get increased coverage and the answer was no.

 

It even states in the booklet that if your trip exceeds the amount listed for coverage, speak to your TA or another supplier for excess coverage.

 

We used TravelGuard for cancellation/interruption for our upcoming cruise.

 

Canuck, please let me know what the limit per trip is with your RBC Avion. Thanks.

 

I took a quick look at the policy and for Interruption it is up to a max of $25,000. and for Cancellation it is a max of $5000. (not enough to cover an O cruise!) but with the possibility of a top up. Also pers. over 65yrs. need to call for addition coverage. I will definitely take the time to read up and call RBC Visa for additional info.

[YoHoHo]

We have this card, and it has cancellation/interruption insurance that appears to cover over 65.(the pre-existing condition period is longer over age 75)

 

However, it only covers $1000 per person per insured trip, which doesn't help much on an O cruise.

 

i have phoned to see if we could get increased coverage and the answer was no.

 

It even states in the booklet that if your trip exceeds the amount listed for coverage, speak to your TA or another supplier for excess coverage.

 

We used TravelGuard for cancellation/interruption for our upcoming cruise.

 

Canuck, please let me know what the limit per trip is with your RBC Avion. Thanks.

TD promotes this as a' travel' card yet charges a foreign currency transaction fee! I got sooooo many emails, snail mail and finally promotional phone call where the rep ,with some hesitation agreed that that this is somewhat counterproductive.

[freedom750]

Hi Lyn

The RBC Avion CC NOW includes 'Trip Cancellation' along with the Trip Interruption. The MasterCard World CC also includes BOTH. There is an extra cost to those over 65..I will get back to you with the exact upcharge as we are in the process of preping for our cruise next month.

We had a medical indecent last Sept on a tour (cost $350ish) RBC paid in full & very prompt.

 

I checked into the MC World and World Elite MC and they said that trip protection with Trip Cancellation is covered if you are under 65. The person I talked to just read from the brochure and didn't know where to check for more info. You suggest that there may be an option to add this coverage. Thanks for checking this out further. Look forward to what you find out.

[canuck.qc]

I checked with RBC Infinite Avion CC:

*Trip Inter is $5000pp.

*Trip Cancel is $1500.pp top up to $12.000. is $616.00

*Top up for Medical over 65 is $130 (only covered for the 1st 3 days)

*CC has adequate insurance for car rental, hotel, purchases & other misc.

We will prob purchase a Package thru another source as the CC 'top up' option seems high.

[tropicalkerry2002]

Our CC med insurance covers 15 days, to cover for 28 days was $140 for the 2 of us(some pre existing conditions). We are under 65.

Interruption is $5000 per trip

Travel Guard interrup/cancel was $535 for $16000.

TravelGuard was recommended to me by a fellow CCer, and I have turned a few others on to it.

[canuck.qc]

Our CC med insurance covers 15 days, to cover for 28 days was $140 for the 2 of us(some pre existing conditions). We are under 65.

Interruption is $5000 per trip

Travel Guard interrup/cancel was $535 for $16000.

TravelGuard was recommended to me by a fellow CCer, and I have turned a few others on to it.

Great info! I immediately went online to get a quote and we don't get their service in Quebec:mad: Back to the drawing board. My U.S. TA quoted me $550US Inter/Cancel I just might take it...I have been holding off from that option because the CDN dollar is weak these days:(

[tropicalkerry2002]

insuremytrip.ca

[cruisingxpert]

Great info! I immediately went online to get a quote and we don't get their service in Quebec:mad: Back to the drawing board. My U.S. TA quoted me $550US Inter/Cancel I just might take it...I have been holding off from that option because the CDN dollar is weak these days:(

 

Check out Medipac for Canadians http://www.medipac.com/travel-insurance

 

CJ