Any Insurance That Has Your Primary Doctor Determine Evacuation?

[absolutboy20]

I'm going to Indonesia in a few months and we are looking at purchasing travel insurance. One of the items pointed out on a morning news show after the experience that the couple in Europe went through was in regards to their actual policy and it lacking some elements.

 

The takeaway I got from the segment from the "travel expert" was that to make sure that your traveler's insurance is primary coverage, not secondary, and that if a medical evacuation is required, that your primary doctor makes the determination, not the physician who works for the insurance company. I've found a couple of insurance carriers that are primary coverage, but the issue I'm having is finding one that has the medical evacuation coverage determination made by my primary.

 

Has anyone found a policy that has this policy for determinations in medical evacuation?

[cruiseco]

I'm going to Indonesia in a few months and we are looking at purchasing travel insurance. One of the items pointed out on a morning news show after the experience that the couple in Europe went through was in regards to their actual policy and it lacking some elements.

 

The takeaway I got from the segment from the "travel expert" was that to make sure that your traveler's insurance is primary coverage, not secondary, and that if a medical evacuation is required, that your primary doctor makes the determination, not the physician who works for the insurance company. I've found a couple of insurance carriers that are primary coverage, but the issue I'm having is finding one that has the medical evacuation coverage determination made by my primary.

 

Has anyone found a policy that has this policy for determinations in medical evacuation?

 

Your only option would be to sign up with a service such as MedJet Assistance. If you are hospitalized they will let you choose when and where to be evacuated to as long as you need continuing hospital care when you get there.

 

However, they are not "insurance".

[absolutboy20]

Thanks Cruiseco for the quick reply. That'll mean piecemealing a plan together but may be the only option if I wanted the coverage that I'm looking for. I wasn't too concerned when I did a Australia/New Zealand cruise as I knew the ports would normally have good hospitals, but this one I'm a little more cautious.

[Philob]

I believe what is meant by "primary insurance" is the travel insurance you buy pays for your medical insurance directly to the medical providers.

 

"Secondary insurance" means you pay out of pocket first to the medical providers and you seek reimbursement from the travel insurance company via claim forms later.

 

Medical treatment decisions are made by the attending physician, who may consult with your doctor at home about your treatment.

[absolutboy20]

Philob,

 

That is my understanding on primary vs secondary insurance as well. Primary for me seems more ideal as the insurance company would be the first to pay out, rather than me coming back home to get reimbursed.

 

The second part, regarding who makes the decision as to whether a medical evacuation is warranted gets tricky. I called two insurance companies and spoke to their representatives, both of the insurance companies were highly rated, and they informed me the decision regarding medical evacuation necessity is determined by the attending physician where you are hospitalized AND a physician who is hired by the insurance company at their office. The travel segment I watched recommended that decision should to be able to be made by your primary care physician, not by the insurer.

 

I looked at the MedJet mentioned above, and it appears that the member makes the final decision as to whether to request medical transport, not the provider. I'm going to try pricing medical coverage/insurance separately to see if this is going to be reasonable rather than buying a packaged insurance deal.

[sirwired]

I believe what is meant by "primary insurance" is the travel insurance you buy pays for your medical insurance directly to the medical providers.

 

"Secondary insurance" means you pay out of pocket first to the medical providers and you seek reimbursement from the travel insurance company via claim forms later.

 

Philob,

 

That is my understanding on primary vs secondary insurance as well. Primary for me seems more ideal as the insurance company would be the first to pay out, rather than me coming back home to get reimbursed.

 

That is not how primary vs. secondary works. No travel insurance provider is billed by the medical providers directly. For all of them, you make payment arrangements yourself, and then file for reimbursement after you return home. (Although for catastrophic situations, some companies will work with the hospital directly... this is especially the case if you are going to be laid up a while.)

 

The difference between primary and secondary insurance is that with secondary insurance, you file with your own health insurance plan first, and then the trip insurance company picks up the tab for the rest. This isn't as bad as it sounds, as I've never heard of a trip insurance company requiring the policyholder to actually fight with their own insurance; you simply send along your Explanation of Benefits showing what was and wasn't paid (even if the "paid" amount was $0, because you don't have international coverage.)

 

In summary, the difference between primary and secondary coverage is however long it takes your primary insurance policy to pay (or deny) a claim. Primary is a nice feature, but not something I'd pay extra for.

 

NOTE: Some policies (I believe mostly discount annual travel-med policies) require you to have some amount of primary insurance coverage, but I don't know of any single-trip policies this applies to.

[klfrodo]

I believe what is meant by "primary insurance" is the travel insurance you buy pays for your medical insurance directly to the medical providers.

 

"Secondary insurance" means you pay out of pocket first to the medical providers and you seek reimbursement from the travel insurance company via claim forms later.

 

Medical treatment decisions are made by the attending physician, who may consult with your doctor at home about your treatment.

 

As stated by Sirwired,,, you are mistaken on your understanding. Primary is who pays first on a reimbursement basis. Secondary is who pays last after all other options are exhausted for any "covered" benefits.

 

All of this is based on reimbursement. YOU pay upfront for any costs.

IF you cannot afford to pay upfront, some (NOT ALL) providers may send a letter proving ability to pay, for treatment to begin if this is what the care giver requires.

Since any air evac has to be pre approved by the insurance provider, they will pay for this upfront. Caveat being is if evacuation is provided by the US Coast Guard, then this is free of charge.

[cruiseco]

IF you cannot afford to pay upfront, some (NOT ALL) providers may send a letter proving ability to pay, for treatment to begin if this is what the care giver requires.

 

Yes, and "primary" or "secondary" doesn't seem to matter. Some "secondary" plans will do this whereas some "primary" plans won't.