Health insurance while cruising

[Kamloops50]

So why is it important to be a primary if you have a health ins in the states but that ins doesn't cover anything outside the US. So then the travel plan you purchased should kick in right? Since the employer ins won't cover anything out of the country. Am I missing something here?

 

 

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My insurance pays for out of country medical.They expect me to pay up front and then submit the claim. If major medical issue ( heart attack or stroke) . They will negotiate wwith the hospital then pay the amount.

[womack214]

So does anyone know of a company that has primary plans?

 

 

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[critterchick]

If in the US, and if you are covered by BC/BS as a primary health insurance, then check out their inexpensive international coverage called GeoBlue.

 

You don't need to be covered by BC/BS. For certain plans (Trekker Choice, for example), you need a primary insurer, but it doesn't have to be them.

 

We have international medical coverage thanks to DH's 23 years in the Navy. It will cover a certain amount of evacuation, but I hope I don't have to find out the limit. We have a modest annual policy from Travelguard that includes up to $300k in evacuation - we had to have something for our Antarctica trip (and Abercrombie & Kent only required $50k of coverage).

 

We're ok with self-insuring the cost of our vacation, even the Antarctica one. That has saved us thousands over the years, so that if "the big one" hits, we'll have those savings to cover almost any trip we've booked.

[Clarea]

So does anyone know of a company that has primary plans?

Many companies offer primary medical. If you use a search site like squaremiouth.com, you can set a filter to show only companies that offer primary medical.

[martyap]

Lots of other things are secondary like lost bags. I just prefer companies like Travelex because all their coverage is primary and they have always reimbursed me without issues

 

 

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[Esmerelda]

We buy travel insurance for every cruise. There's a clear statement in my UHC policy that states: your policy does not cover you if you travel outside of the US. ☹️ We have no choice.

[jamesr3939]

Medicare and Medicare Supplements will not cover once outside the USA. Specific to Alaska cruises the most common reason for not purchasing medical insurance is that USA citizens think it's not needed as they'll =be taken to USA hospital when in fact most of the time during the cruise the nearest hospital is most likely in Canada. The same can apply to New England/Canada cruise depending where at sea the ship is when the need arises.

 

Not exactly correct. Here is a post directly from AARP's www site.

 

Medicare doesn’t pay for medical services outside the United States and its territories, except in the following rare situations:

• You’re traveling between Alaska and another state and have a medical emergency that means you must be treated in Canada.
  
• A medical emergency occurs while you’re in the United States or its territories, but the nearest hospital is in a foreign country — for example, across the border in Canada or Mexico.
  
• You live within the United States or its territories and need hospital care (regardless of whether it’s an emergency), but the nearest hospital is in a foreign country.
  
• You’re on a ship that's within six hours of a U.S. port.
  

Some Medigap supplemental insurance policies (those labeled C, D, F, G, M or N) cover emergencies or urgently needed treatment abroad, if the need for care begins during the first 60 days of your trip. In this situation, you pay a $250 deductible and 20 percent of the cost of the medical treatment you receive, up to a lifetime maximum of $50,000.

Some Medicare Advantage plans also cover medical emergencies. So do some employer or retiree plans and TRICARE military benefits. Check with your plan whether it will cover you during your trip.

Otherwise, you need to buy travel insurance that covers medical emergencies when planning journeys abroad.

I just confirmed my AARP/UHC Medicare Supp Plan F does cover for foreign travel. It's not a huge amount Lifetime Max is $50,000 they pay 80%. But no Evac coverage.

Edited July 17, 2017 by jamesr3939

[Baron Barracuda]

So why is it important to be a primary if you have a health ins in the states but that ins doesn't cover anything outside the US. So then the travel plan you purchased should kick in right? Since the employer ins won't cover anything out of the country. Am I missing something here?

 

 

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Came down with bronchitis aboard ship. Knowing my primary Blue Cross plan doesn't cover out of network had purchased Travel Guard travel insurance. Ship billed the $600 sick bay charge to my credit card. Since TG plan is secondary in order to file claim needed to first be rejected by primary (BC). It took four submissions and more than six months to get this done. Attached cover letters saying please process and reject this claim but kept disappearing into black hole. Pleaded with them over the phone to just reject the claim. When finally received rejection notice filed with TG and was reimbursed within two weeks. If TG plan had been primary would not have had to go out of pocket or spend many hours chasing BC

[Havingfun2010]

I don't know that that's necessarily true:

http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/do-i-need-to-buy-travel-health-insurance-if-im-going-overseas

 

which includes the statement "Many of the standard plans from big insurance providers, including Aetna, Cigna, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies, include provisions for emergency and urgent care abroad."

 

I have always wondered the statement that insurance wouldn't cover you. My insurance plans always did cover me outside the country for emergency care. It might not be at 100% but it seems most care outside the USA is cheaper anyway. Just need to present the receipts and get reimbursed.

[nelblu]

We buy travel insurance for every cruise. There's a clear statement in my UHC policy that states: your policy does not cover you if you travel outside of the US. ☹️ We have no choice.

 

 

Although Medicare does no cover outside the US, my Medicare F supplement plan covers 80% of customary charges outside the US. Also, I've got coverage via my Chase travel card.

[payitforward]

My rule is "never gamble with more than you can afford to lose." I can afford to lose what I paid for insurance if nothing goes wrong, but I can't afford to loose thousands of dollars if something does go wrong. If you book through a TA, he or she should always be offering you insurance options. If you travel often, it is worth looking at an annual policy.

 

Not medical, but interesting: My parents were on an Alaskan cruise on 9/11/01. Since no guests could arrive for the new cruise, and the previous cruisers could not fly home, the cruise line offered them the option to take a second cruise at a very low rate. They took the second cruise, and their trip insurance covered everything including gratuities, changing flights, hotels, meals, etc.

[Barry ATL]

I mentioned GeoBlu earlier. One of the nice aspects is when using their network, GeoBlu will act as the primary carrier.

 

Also, I found the sister site to GeoBlu.

 

https://www.hthtravelinsurance.com/

 

They have different products, but one of them is trip cancellation. He medical part has a lower limit than GeoBlu ($500,000 vs. $1,000,000), but this is the coverage we buy if we want to traditional trip cancellation insurance and medical.

Edited July 18, 2017 by Barry ATL

[amp0289]

I got interested and looked into a couple plans after reading some of this. A few things I thought were noteworthy -

 

A few of the plans I looked at did have the Pre-Existing Conditions Exclusion, **unless the insurance is purchased within ten (10) days of the initial Trip deposit** - So if you purchase the insurance right away, the exclusion does not apply.

 

Another exclusion I noticed - "participating in bodily contact sports; skydiving; hang-gliding; parachuting; mountaineering; any race; bungee cordjumping; and speed contest (speed contest shall not include any of the regatta races) scuba diving; spelunking orcaving; heliskiing; extreme skiing;"

- Scuba Diving is an offered excursion on many cruises, so worth noting if this is something you plan to do on your trip :)

 

I guess the real point is, be sure to really read any plan you're buying (just like people have already pointed out).

[shellunderwater]

I got interested and looked into a couple plans after reading some of this. A few things I thought were noteworthy -

 

A few of the plans I looked at did have the Pre-Existing Conditions Exclusion, **unless the insurance is purchased within ten (10) days of the initial Trip deposit** - So if you purchase the insurance right away, the exclusion does not apply.

 

Another exclusion I noticed - "participating in bodily contact sports; skydiving; hang-gliding; parachuting; mountaineering; any race; bungee cordjumping; and speed contest (speed contest shall not include any of the regatta races) scuba diving; spelunking orcaving; heliskiing; extreme skiing;"

- Scuba Diving is an offered excursion on many cruises, so worth noting if this is something you plan to do on your trip :)

 

I guess the real point is, be sure to really read any plan you're buying (just like people have already pointed out).

If someone plans to dive, especially outside the US (Or maybe their own country), PADI insurance might be wise, as it covers diving and hyperbaric chambers.

 

It's all fun until the stuff hits the fan, then it's all about inclusions and exclusions.

 

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[royalmariner24]

After reading all your posts regarding travel insurance I did some calling today and the best plan I came up with for additional medical coverage was Travel Insured International. They offer $100,000 medical benefits and $1,000,000 medical evacuation. It is called the World Wide Trip Protector Plus plan and it goes by the date you booked your cruise,the deposit amount ,the balance of your trip, the dates you are traveling, and your age. They gave me a quote of $212.00 for both myself and my husband. I called my medical insurance here in the states and they told me that was a good plan and good idea. Most insurances require you to pay your hospital bill upfront if that is the case for example in Jamaica but with the additional travel insurance this plan will pay the first $100,000 if you are admitted and you have a bill such as that. Also make sure any plan you choose they are the primary payer. The plans offers a lot more coverage for airfare,baggage delay,trip delay etc.... I was more interested in the medical aspect of the plan.

1-800-243-3174 Travel Insured International

Thanks again to whoever started this post. I have been very lucky all these years cruising but when I saw this post and read some of the stories I said better to be safe than sorry .

Thanks again

[CruiseCheapsk8]

We never travel without it. Go to insuremytrip.com to compare plans

 

Thank you! That is very helpful info!

[squale2]

With High Deductibles on my health insurance - I would rather have secondary Medical on my trip insurance. That way if my current Health insurance can be used as a primary the secondary insurance will pay all will pay all deductibles, out-of-pocket expenses and co-pays up to its coverage limit. And if my current health insurance can't be used then the secondary becomes primary - or am I looking at this the wrong way?

[jamesr3939]

I priced the GeoBlue plan for ten days at the top coverage and it came to $160 for DW and I, that's with my Medicare supp plan as primary. Geo offers $500,000 Evac but only to the nearest best hospital. I do like they have worldwide network providers (can't get the list off their site) so if you can use a preferred provider they bill directly to GeoBlue.

 

As for the "risky" activity listed above. GeoBlue still covers that, but at a reduced amount. Also, you have to read the "pre-existing" fine print as some pre-existing conditions are covered it just depends on how long and if stable under treatment.

[butterfly529]

I buy travel insurance for the chance of emergency cancellation - I have aging parents, so its more about being able to recover some of my money, especially for airfare, than it is for medical.