anything other than MedJet Assist?

[Pam]

Medjet doesn't classify itself as "insurance", if I remember correctly. Think of it as the timeshare of travel insurance; it's a membership in a service, if you need it. If you are on one of their jets and have need, there will be a nurse and possibly a paramedic onboard with you. They are there to get you home from wherever you are. Travel insurance, as such, covers the one trip that you buy that insurance for. Medjet covers a certain time period, no matter how many trips you make during that time.

 

Is that better?

[xrvlcruiser]

When MedJetAssist flew me to my home hospital from Puerto Vallerta last November, there was a Nurse and a Paramedic plus 2 pilots on board the Lear jet plus my son and me.

 

Peggy

[JVilleGal]

Here is the dilemma as I see it. Medjet will get you home but offers no medical coverage. The standard travel policies offer medical coverage but will not necessarily get you home. It seems like you need two policies to be fully covered get you to a hospital at home in the event of a serious illness or accident.

 

 

Yes this two different types of coverage. Regular TI does not cover Evac the same way MedJet does. We have an annual MedJet policy and then buy TI for each trip.

 

 

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[SnoBirdCruiser]

As a Canadian we all have our provincial health insurance coverage but since we travel a lot on short notice, we also carry an "out of country Medical coverage policy" as well.

 

We have had a Medjet policy(from Birmingham,AL) for years, for foreign hospital to your home hospital evacuation.....since we travel to the four corners of the world we like having the peace of mind that it gives us. This is especially true whether we are on a safari in Africa or in the middle of China.

 

We are at that age where we want hassle free trips and peace of mind in case of an emergency.

 

Pat and Ray

[lovestx]

Thanks so much for the great tip on the AARP discount, Keith! I bought a membership for $16 and it dropped the price of a five year MedJet Assist policy about $150.

 

Now if I could only find a Medical insurance annual policy that included St. Croix where we spend the winter....

[Keith1010]

lovestx, you are very welcome.

 

Keith

[purpleally]

 

Not sure if we will purchase it or not. We leave on Tuesday for a month and will forgo it for now. We both had physicals in the last two weeks and are in good shape for the trip (always thankful to receive that kind of news from our doctor).

 

I booked this cruise before I had the new chase card. I paid $1200 for the travel insurance and my dr bill was MUCH higher than that. And I am a very healthy person. One never knows.

 

In November we went on a cruise to SA for 24 days. Since I put the cost on my chase, I did not purchase additional insurance. A week before the cruise I purchased an annual med jet policy in case we were hospitalized. We travel a lot, not just cruising.

 

I wanted that peace of mind and I was getting close to having to use it this trip!

[Coffeeluvr05]

Some communications on another thread talked about evacuation insurance, which we've never purchased, but suspect it might be wise to do so. I called MedJet and learned that at my husband's age (second half of 80's), the cost would be around $800 (for him alone; for both, up around $1000). I'm wondering if anyone knows of another reputable company that writes this kind of insurance. A poster on the other thread said that they're covered on their credit card-- for under $200 for both. Don't know more details yet. I know that Jet evacuation is terribly costly, but somehow that figure of $1000 threw me for a loop.

 

Thanks for any opinions or info.

 

I am not sure about age limits since I'm much younger but we have Travel Guard (Gold plan) and it covers $500,000 toward emergency evacuation. We purchased this through our travel agent immediately after booking.

[jelayne]

We have had MedJet for about 5 years & fortunately haven't had to use it. Most medical evacuation insurances will transport you if the insurance company determines that your condition can't be treated where you are. Then they will transport you to the nearest facility that can treat you. MedJet will transport to a facility of your choosing if you are able to be moved without regard to whether you could be treated where you are.

 

Friend fell on a trip as she was returning to the ship from a excursion on a small island with limited facilities. Multiple fractures of the leg. The medical facility on the island had a surgeon, not orthopedic but a general surgeon, so the insurance company would not pay to evacuate her. The cost to get evacuated back to the US was $100k. After a complicated surgery and months of rehab the prognosis is for a full recovery. Not sure the outlook would be so positive if they didn't personally have the funds to pay for the medical evacuation.

Edited January 31, 2017 by jelayne

[globalshopper]

I'm curious about these medical evacuation policies, given what my husband and I encountered on our Dec. 2015 crossing from Cape Town to Rio. A 45-yr old passenger had a mild heart attack one day out of Namibia, and this event resulted in CPT Teo's decision to bypass St. Helena in the mid-Atlantic and "speed" for five days to Rio in case he needed bypass surgery. He was stable, and the hospital on St. Helena would admit him but couldn't perform bypass surgery. My interpretation of travel insurance meant that the ship was responsible for getting him to the nearest hospital....NOT the nearest hospital that could treat him IF he later developed complications after disembarking. Since St. Helena was my main reason for the cruise, I was very frustrated and finally met with CPT Teo for an hour. His response was basically CYA. He said he could be jailed if something happened to the passenger. This seems to be an exaggerated response, and that the travel/evacuation insurance should have handled it -- and those of us who went on the voyage to see St. Helena could have done so. Have any of you had such an experience? I have only cruised on Regent, so I don't know if this was standard procedure. Thoughts?

[JVilleGal]

CPT ?? Teo ??? I'm pretty sure I understand CYA. But I am clueless as to what you are talking about.

And Yes I have MedJet Assist for the particular reason that they (unlike other policies) will Evac me home or to a hospital of my choosing. Unlike regular policies that take you to the nearest facility "They" or the Insurance Co deem suitable.

 

The ship plays no part in getting you anywhere. They want you OFF their boat and do not want to be responsible for you!

 

Note: ok I get it but why all the abbreviations?

CPT = Capt would be the normal usage

 

 

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Edited April 2, 2017 by JVilleGal

[FlyerTalker]

Sorry, but you are incorrect. Electrode issues can occur in the potential malfunctioning of medical devices either external or implanted within the brain, heart, etc., for example.

 

Also during electroshock therapy.....

 

:D

[Pam]

I think maybe the captain's name was Teo, so Cpt Teo.

 

I believe that if the patient had Medjet, they could have been admitted in the closest hospital, then flown to their own hospital by Medjet. That is what happened to some close friends of mine, although they were on land and not on a cruise when she had to be admitted.

 

And it wouldn't have taken five days to get to the hospital.

[globalshopper]

CPT ?? Teo ??? I'm pretty sure I understand CYA. But I am clueless as to what you are talking about.

And Yes I have MedJet Assist for the particular reason that they (unlike other policies) will Evac me home or to a hospital of my choosing. Unlike regular policies that take you to the nearest facility "They" or the Insurance Co deem suitable.

 

The ship plays no part in getting you anywhere. They want you OFF their boat and do not want to be responsible for you!

 

Note: ok I get it but why all the abbreviations?

CPT = Capt would be the normal usage

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Sorry about CPT.. we were Army for 30 years and that's Army parlance. CYA is so I didn't have to spell out "cover your ass." In this case , Capt. Teo conferred with Cleveland Clinic and Regent management, and they felt they would be held liable and responsible if they didn't get him to " where he could be taken care of IF he needed a bypass." The issue was not what his condition WAS, but what it MIGHT BE if they left him on St. Helena's--and that's what I question. Regent's passengers are predominantly age 50 and up, so the possibility of a heart attack on another remote cruise makes me quite wary of cruising with Regent. Do you know of similar experiences on other cruise lines, and how this compares? We are thinking of doing Regent's April 2019 cruise from Tokyo to Kamchatka, the Aleutian Islands and then the Inside Passage. I don't want my trip cut short if another passenger becomes ill.

Edited April 2, 2017 by globalshopper

[FlyerTalker]

Given that there is NO airport on St Helena, and the only service to the mainland in Africa is the mailboat, I would definitely endorse not leaving a patient there if at all possible. Had a condition worsened while left on the island, the only alternative is to wait for the mailboat. And pray.

[Pam]

That is a very important point; you can't drop a sick patient off where there is no airport for something like MedJet to land.

[UUNetBill]

Given that there is NO airport on St Helena, and the only service to the mainland in Africa is the mailboat, I would definitely endorse not leaving a patient there if at all possible. Had a condition worsened while left on the island, the only alternative is to wait for the mailboat. And pray.

According to Wikipedia, they opened an airport in 2016. In fact, the article specifically mentions a medevac flight.

[FlyerTalker]

Opened but not operational due to terrible wind conditions that weren't considered in the design. There may be the rare super emergency flight but even that would be risky.

[Gilly]

Opened but not operational due to terrible wind conditions that weren't considered in the design. There may be the rare super emergency flight but even that would be risky.

 

Absolutely correct, Flyertalker. We have friends with St Helena connections and that airport situation is a source of much frustration and ongoing discussion!

[forgap]

Another insurance product to consider is GeoBlue. This covers medical expenses and evacuation if needed. You can purchase a yearly policy. This is especially useful for those 65 and older as Medicare pays nothing outside of the country. This, plus MedJet Assist, and credit card trip cancellation is a good combo.

[flossie009]

I'm curious about these medical evacuation policies, given what my husband and I encountered on our Dec. 2015 crossing from Cape Town to Rio. A 45-yr old passenger had a mild heart attack one day out of Namibia, and this event resulted in CPT Teo's decision to bypass St. Helena in the mid-Atlantic and "speed" for five days to Rio in case he needed bypass surgery. He was stable, and the hospital on St. Helena would admit him but couldn't perform bypass surgery. My interpretation of travel insurance meant that the ship was responsible for getting him to the nearest hospital....NOT the nearest hospital that could treat him IF he later developed complications after disembarking. Since St. Helena was my main reason for the cruise, I was very frustrated and finally met with CPT Teo for an hour. His response was basically CYA. He said he could be jailed if something happened to the passenger. This seems to be an exaggerated response, and that the travel/evacuation insurance should have handled it -- and those of us who went on the voyage to see St. Helena could have done so. Have any of you had such an experience? I have only cruised on Regent, so I don't know if this was standard procedure. Thoughts?

 

We were also on this cruise, and yes it was disappointing to miss St Helena

 

Given the circumstances, Captain Teo Srdelic had only two possibilities - return to South Africa or press on with all due speed to South America. He kept guests fully informed and IMO made the correct decision to make all speed to South America

Dropping the patient off on an island 1200 miles from the nearest landmass and without adequate medical facilities or an operational airport* was not an option that any professional Captain could have considered

 

The safety of each and every person on the ship must always take precedence

 

 

* St Helena airport was not due to open until May 2016 and, in the event, was delayed due to problems of wind-shear

[UUNetBill]

I'm curious about these medical evacuation policies, given what my husband and I encountered on our Dec. 2015 crossing from Cape Town to Rio. A 45-yr old passenger had a mild heart attack one day out of Namibia, and this event resulted in CPT Teo's decision to bypass St. Helena in the mid-Atlantic and "speed" for five days to Rio in case he needed bypass surgery. He was stable, and the hospital on St. Helena would admit him but couldn't perform bypass surgery. My interpretation of travel insurance meant that the ship was responsible for getting him to the nearest hospital....NOT the nearest hospital that could treat him IF he later developed complications after disembarking. Since St. Helena was my main reason for the cruise, I was very frustrated and finally met with CPT Teo for an hour. His response was basically CYA. He said he could be jailed if something happened to the passenger. This seems to be an exaggerated response, and that the travel/evacuation insurance should have handled it -- and those of us who went on the voyage to see St. Helena could have done so. Have any of you had such an experience? I have only cruised on Regent, so I don't know if this was standard procedure. Thoughts?

I guess one's interpretation of what constitutes a 'mild heart attack' and what hospital is adequate depends greatly on whether one is the victim of the coronary event or not. I've also learned over the years to not choose a cruise based on one port - although it's not super common in my experience, ports are missed on occasion, be it medical emergencies, weather, mechanical issues, etc. and letting your enjoyment of a cruise hinge on one specific port is a recipe for disaster.