Senior Medical Insurance Help

[ibcnusoon]

I put a deposit down on March 15th for a cruise for my parents. Last week I was researching travel insurance for them (both on Medicare) when my father was rushed to the hospital. He's still being hospitalized, maybe released in a day or two, and will require follow up care for the next 2 weeks.

 

Needless to say, when I called for more info on travel insurance, I was told that he needs to be out of the hospital and free to travel NOW in order to get trip insurance.

 

His 15 day window expires Thursday. Do you think I will be able to get him primary insurance with pre-existing conditions, say within 30 days after he is release from the doctors?

 

This was all very confusing to me from the beginning, now that he is hospitalized I'm even more confused. We basically don't care if he needs to cancel the cruise or we miss the boat, but I'm more concerned that he has medical insurance and medical evacution coverage before setting foot on the cruise. Will I be able to get it for him after 15 days from initial payment and if a medical condition should arise on the cruise that pertains to him being hospitalized now, will it be covered?

[cruiseco]

I put a deposit down on March 15th for a cruise for my parents. Last week I was researching travel insurance for them (both on Medicare) when my father was rushed to the hospital. He's still being hospitalized, maybe released in a day or two, and will require follow up care for the next 2 weeks.

 

Needless to say, when I called for more info on travel insurance, I was told that he needs to be out of the hospital and free to travel NOW in order to get trip insurance.

 

His 15 day window expires Thursday. Do you think I will be able to get him primary insurance with pre-existing conditions, say within 30 days after he is release from the doctors?

 

This was all very confusing to me from the beginning, now that he is hospitalized I'm even more confused. We basically don't care if he needs to cancel the cruise or we miss the boat, but I'm more concerned that he has medical insurance and medical evacution coverage before setting foot on the cruise. Will I be able to get it for him after 15 days from initial payment and if a medical condition should arise on the cruise that pertains to him being hospitalized now, will it be covered?

 

The Travelex Travel Max plan will cover pre-existing medical conditions under these circumstances:

 

"Waiver of the Pre-Existing Condition Exclusion

 

The Pre-Existing Condition Exclusion is waived provided you meet all of the following requirements:

 

1) the payment for this plan and enrollment form is received within 30 days of the initial Covered Trip deposit/payment for your Covered Trip; and

2) you are not disabled from travel at the time you make your plan payment; and

3) you insure all prepaid Covered Trip costs that are subject to cancellation penalties or restrictions; and also insures within 30 days of the payment for those arrangements the cost of any subsequent arrangements added to the your Covered Trip."

 

There are other plans that are similar.

[sirwired]

Cruiseco, if he can't travel now, he gets hit by #2.

 

To the OP:

 

If I was in your place, I'd cancel the booking and get your deposit back, assuming you are still out of the penalty period. Right now, he's not going to get any kind of pre-ex waiver since he cannot currently travel.

 

You can always rebook as soon as he's well enough to travel. At that point it'll be a fresh booking, and that re-starts the pre-ex clock.

[cruiseco]

Cruiseco, if he can't travel now, he gets hit by #2.

 

 

Here's the timeline (if I'm reading it right):

 

"I put a deposit down on March 15th for a cruise for my parents. Last week I was researching travel insurance for them (both on Medicare) when my father was rushed to the hospital. He's still being hospitalized, maybe released in a day or two, and will require follow up care for the next 2 weeks."

 

IF all that works out as planned he will be certified by the doctor as good to travel sometime around April 11th. He would then be able to purchase this plan (up until April 15th) and still be covered for pre-existing medical conditions. All of the requirements for the waiver would have been met, including #2.

[ibcnusoon]

Here's the timeline (if I'm reading it right):

 

"I put a deposit down on March 15th for a cruise for my parents. Last week I was researching travel insurance for them (both on Medicare) when my father was rushed to the hospital. He's still being hospitalized, maybe released in a day or two, and will require follow up care for the next 2 weeks."

 

IF all that works out as planned he will be certified by the doctor as good to travel sometime around April 11th. He would then be able to purchase this plan (up until April 15th) and still be covered for pre-existing medical conditions. All of the requirements for the waiver would have been met, including #2.

 

 

Right, at that time we will explore a 30 day plan if cleared in 2 weeks or the Travelex Travel Max or CSA Freestyle plans which should cover him wiht pre-existing condition, providing it is before final payment which isn't due until September. Is that correct?

[cruiseco]

Right, at that time we will explore a 30 day plan if cleared in 2 weeks or the Travelex Travel Max or CSA Freestyle plans which should cover him wiht pre-existing condition, providing it is before final payment which isn't due until September. Is that correct?

 

Actually, for some reason I thought he was traveling soon and your deposit was the final payment. Must have confused him with some other thread or I would have suggested CSA as an option. But yes, the CSA Freestlye plans can be purchased up until the final payment date and still offer the pre-existing medical condition waiver:

 

"WAIVER OF THE PRE-EXISTING CONDITION EXCLUSION

Items 2 and 3 under the Policy Exclusions are waived provided you meet the following requirements:

1. the premium for the coverage is received prior to/or within 24 hours of your final payment for your Covered Trip; and

2. you are not disabled from travel at the time you pay your premium."

[ibcnusoon]

Just a little background: deposit was made on March 15th for a cruise in November 2012. Final payment is not until September 4th. As I was looking for cruise insurance to cover him for medical insurance and medical evacuation, he went into the hospital. He's fine and should be out of the hospital some time this week and will need some antibiotic medication daily for a week or so. I'm assuming I can't get him insurance until AFTER he's been medically cleared, which would probably be about a week or 2 after he's released from the hospial or can he be insured for the cruise on the day after he's released? If he is released before the 15th day, would I be able to get him insurance at that time, or wait the 2 week period when he has follow up care with his regular physican?

 

I'm not concerned with any other insurance options like cancel, lost baggage, etc. I was hoping to make a decision by the 15th day (which is this Friday) but he may still be under doctor's care at that time.

 

I think we will go with the Freestyle plan when he is medically cleared, if it occurs after the 15th day since initial deposit (Friday). I spent all day reviewing the various plans and knew nothing about insurance involving pre-existing conditions, etc. until today

 

I didn't even know he wouldn't be covered if he is being hospitalized on the day I acquire insurance for him. I'm so glad I found that information out before I put down the money, I was ready to book the insurance today for him. Good thing I waited.

[cruiseco]

I'm assuming I can't get him insurance until AFTER he's been medically cleared, which would probably be about a week or 2 after he's released from the hospital or can he be insured for the cruise on the day after he's released? If he is released before the 15th day, would I be able to get him insurance at that time, or wait the 2 week period when he has follow up care with his regular physician?

 

 

That's a tough one. I think it would be best to contact Travelex directly to see what they say. Obviously, if you wait until the follow up care is completed and his GP says he can cruise you're good. Buying the policy without the GP signing off on it after observing his progress outside the hospital would be risky. If it was me I'd go on the assumption that just being released from the hospital isn't enough just to be on the safe side.

 

If you do contact Travelex do it via email so you have a written record of your question and their answer. And don't be surprised if you get some boilerplate about "a determination would be made after all of the claims information is received and compared against the actual plan wording."

[mellerswa]

I put a deposit down on March 15th for a cruise for my parents. Last week I was researching travel insurance for them (both on Medicare) when my father was rushed to the hospital. He's still being hospitalized, maybe released in a day or two, and will require follow up care for the next 2 weeks.

 

Needless to say, when I called for more info on travel insurance, I was told that he needs to be out of the hospital and free to travel NOW in order to get trip insurance.

 

His 15 day window expires Thursday. Do you think I will be able to get him primary insurance with pre-existing conditions, say within 30 days after he is release from the doctors?

 

This was all very confusing to me from the beginning, now that he is hospitalized I'm even more confused. We basically don't care if he needs to cancel the cruise or we miss the boat, but I'm more concerned that he has medical insurance and medical evacution coverage before setting foot on the cruise. Will I be able to get it for him after 15 days from initial payment and if a medical condition should arise on the cruise that pertains to him being hospitalized now, will it be covered?

 

This is not usually the best way to do travel insurance, but in this one, particular case, this is what I would recommend:

 

If you think there is a good chance your father will be well enough from this illness by the time you put down the final, not the initial payment, wait until he is out of the hospital and technically well enough to travel.

 

If it is less than 30 days from the initial payment, get him TravelInsured's World Protector Gold, or a similar policy that works with the window you have. (http://www.tripinsurancestore.com/ has good choices and policy comparisons, or, if your father is a veteran, I'd recommend http://www.usaa.com/ )

 

If it is more than 30 days past the window, but less than 24 hours before your final payment, that he is technically well enough to travel, ON THAT DAY AT THAT MINUTE buy CSA insurance (it's sold through http://www.tripinsurancestore.com/ ). He can get pre-existing coverage in this way, but not when he's in the middle of a "turn for the worse", like he is right now.

 

If he is not well enough by that time, I would cancel the cruise, it is not worth the risk for him to travel without insurance, IMHO.

 

If you do this, he should be covered for pre-existing conditions if something happens on the cruise. Do double-check with http://www.tripinsurancestore.com or another broker, though, just to make sure.

[ibcnusoon]

He should be out of the hospital by the end of the week, will be an outpatient getting antibiotics for a week following discharge. The 30 day window from initial deposit is April 15th. Final payment is due September 4th. I'm not 100% sure, even if he is cleared after the one week of antibiotics, that I will purchase the insurance by April 15th, worried that if I do need to call upon it during our cruise, they may find some loophole to back out of paying.

 

I also found CSA Freestyle available for purchase through http://www.csatravelpro.com - when I click through the link a TA Code appears and it looks like it allows me to purchase. I will call travelinsurancestore the minute he is given a clean bill of health.

 

He is a veteran, thanks for that link, I will look into it. I'm learning sooo much about travel insurance this past week.

[mellerswa]

He should be out of the hospital by the end of the week, will be an outpatient getting antibiotics for a week following discharge. The 30 day window from initial deposit is April 15th. Final payment is due September 4th. I'm not 100% sure, even if he is cleared after the one week of antibiotics, that I will purchase the insurance by April 15th, worried that if I do need to call upon it during our cruise, they may find some loophole to back out of paying.

 

I also found CSA Freestyle available for purchase through http://www.csatravelpro.com - when I click through the link a TA Code appears and it looks like it allows me to purchase. I will call travelinsurancestore the minute he is given a clean bill of health.

 

He is a veteran, thanks for that link, I will look into it. I'm learning sooo much about travel insurance this past week.

 

I would check, but I don't think you're any more likely to find a loophole with the other insurance than with CSA. Definitely double-check, though. It doesn't really matter where you buy CSA insurance.

 

I learned a lot about travel insurance, too, for similar reasons--my daughter has CP and autism, as well as hypertension, I have more health problems than I could easily list, and my husband has a heart condition. We don't want anything to happen on our cruise that could ruin the rest of our lives, so we are very careful about travel insurance.

 

Thankfully, we haven't needed to file a claim, but someone on DISBoards, another travel board, needed to file a medical claim with TravelInsured, and they had good luck. Because of that, I've generally gone with them.

 

I should have mentioned this earlier, but good luck to your father! I hope he feels better soon.

[ibcnusoon]

I think I'm going to just rest easy, pray for a clean bill of health before final payment, once received, sign up with CSA Freestyle.

 

Thanks so much to everyone for all your help! I feel much more relieved.