Travel/ Medical Insurance

[#1cruiseaholic]

Just some personal info. DH needed medical attention on Freedom of the Seas. Medical staff was superb. We have annual Geo Blue and they covered our bill in 3 weeks.

[GeezerCouple]

26 minutes ago, Caymus88 said:

I tried to get a quote from Allianz and they said I had to wait until 60 days before I cruise. I have never bought cruise ins before, but we’re older now

 

 

Could you clarify what you mean by this?  You could not purchase - nor even get any information on terms/prices for policies from Allianz until approx 2 months before your departure?

 

Most policies require starting coverage sooner than that, so I'm not sure why they wouldn't even discuss their policies or prices.  You've have missed you chances to purchase meaningful coverage from most other travel insurers if you then didn't like what Allianz offered.

 

GC

[Caymus88]

10 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

Could you clarify what you mean by this?  You could not purchase - nor even get any information on terms/prices for policies from Allianz until approx 2 months before your departure?

 

Most policies require starting coverage sooner than that, so I'm not sure why they wouldn't even discuss their policies or prices.  You've have missed you chances to purchase meaningful coverage from most other travel insurers if you then didn't like what Allianz offered.

 

GC

I went on their website and entered my cruise dates 7 days in Nov 2019. Then I entered our ages. Answer was no quote.

 

so then I _chatted_ with someone who told me no quote before 60 days out 😳

[alaskaca]

1 hour ago, Caymus88 said:

I went on their website and entered my cruise dates 7 days in Nov 2019. Then I entered our ages. Answer was no quote.

 

so then I _chatted_ with someone who told me no quote before 60 days out 😳

I received the very same info yesterday. Seems so very odd. 

[Noxequifans]

We always took the insurance offered through Oceania and never had a claim until earlier this year. I was hospitalized the week before our trip in March and had to cancel. Our experience with the claim processing was outstanding. Check in hand in less than two weeks of filing. 

[1985rz1]

18 hours ago, CintiPam said:

Glad to read from two posters above that each had good claims experience with Allianz annual insurance.  We just switched last year from individual trip policies to purchasing an annual plan because we are traveling much more since my spouse’s retirement ..

We did, too.

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

On 8/6/2019 at 5:53 PM, ropomo said:

 

You have brought out a significant point that I think most travelers are unaware of.  The fine print in most travel insurance only provide "evacuation" to the nearest licensed facility (possibly only a few miles from where you are) that may not be of a standard that meets yours and you are not near home.  

 

That was a concern I had and Geo Blue will take you to the hospital of your choice.  However, depending on your situation that transportation might be on commercial with a EMT escort.  I think most do the same.  

[RJB]

Very good info. here.  Will take some time to go thru it all but I will do it in the next few days.  Thanks to all the posters who took the time to do it. 

[LHT28]

On 8/7/2019 at 11:54 PM, ATSEAMYLIFE said:

 

That was a concern I had and Geo Blue will take you to the hospital of your choice.  However, depending on your situation that transportation might be on commercial with a EMT escort.  I think most do the same.  

I would think that you would need to be in stable condition before they take you to  a facility of your choice  or will they take you in any condition?

 

[StanandJim]

26 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

I would think that you would need to be in stable condition before they take you to  a facility of your choice  or will they take you in any condition?

 

Exactly Lynne, which triggers several other "situations":

1) If the injured party is unconscious or incoherent, who makes the treatment  hospital determination?

2) If stabilization is required, who determines "air worthiness" ?

3) If a Physician determines that time is of the essence regarding said treatment, who makes the final call on treatment location?

[edgee]

On 8/6/2019 at 1:12 PM, GeezerCouple said:

 

I assume you are familiar with MedJet Assist?

Presumably the main concern is with a hospital of,  shall we say, questionable quality?

If one is admitted as an inpatient, YOU get to decide if you want to be medevac'd to a hospital back home, or perhaps to a specialty hospital.

No beancounters make the decision, and no local medical staff need to declare themselves, er, not up to the medical issues at hand, etc.

 

GC

I do not disagree with your point but when my wife became seriously ill in the U.S. while visiting family in another state, MedJet Assist made multiple calls to medical staff at the hospital treating her before they approved the transfer to a hospital near our home. Likely they were just gathering medical information to be sure she was stable enough to fly home. Just want to clarify that they do involve local doctors from the evacuating hospital in the process. In our case we had to deal with a treating doctor who was a real jerk and refused to acknowledge the seriousness of my wife's illness..this held up the transfer until other doctors intervened and gave Medjet accurate information. 

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

I would bet all these questions/answers are hidden in the fine print of everybodies policy.  As I recall Geo Blue you must have been admitted to a hospital before they will consider Evac transportation to the hospital of your choice.  I would assume there would be consultation between the releasing hospital and the accepting hospital, just like in the US.  I would assume most Evac companies would follow the same guidelines for transporting somebody.  Just like in the US if you're unable to make medical decisions on your own then you better have somebody who will "power of attorney".   

That's the reason I like Geo Blue preferred provider list.  Everybody would be on the same page and not worried about getting paid before they let me leave the country.  I would assume you could always discharge yourself Against Medical Advice (AMA) just like in US.     

When we went to the Maldives last year I looked up all the Geo Blue preferred providers along the route just in case.   There were even preferred providers in the Hong Kong airport clinic.   Mali had two hospitals on the list as well as several MD's.   

[StanandJim]

All very logical and well thought out, but I'm at a stage where I want the Broker to do my assuming for me.

 

At best, the Broker is in a better position to get stuff fixed if it is broken, at worst I'll have someone who has some skin in the game, to hold accountable...

YMMV

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

10 minutes ago, StanandJim said:

All very logical and well thought out, but I'm at a stage where I want the Broker to do my assuming for me.

 

At best, the Broker is in a better position to get stuff fixed if it is broken, at worst I'll have someone who has some skin in the game, to hold accountable...

YMMV

 

Same reason to use a TA.  

[alaskaca]

22 minutes ago, StanandJim said:

All very logical and well thought out, but I'm at a stage where I want the Broker to do my assuming for me.

 

At best, the Broker is in a better position to get stuff fixed if it is broken, at worst I'll have someone who has some skin in the game, to hold accountable...

YMMV

You make some excellent points.  How does one go about finding this type of Broker?

[GeezerCouple]

1 hour ago, edgee said:

I do not disagree with your point but when my wife became seriously ill in the U.S. while visiting family in another state, MedJet Assist made multiple calls to medical staff at the hospital treating her before they approved the transfer to a hospital near our home. Likely they were just gathering medical information to be sure she was stable enough to fly home. Just want to clarify that they do involve local doctors from the evacuating hospital in the process. In our case we had to deal with a treating doctor who was a real jerk and refused to acknowledge the seriousness of my wife's illness..this held up the transfer until other doctors intervened and gave Medjet accurate information. 

 

I'm not surprised that the local medical staff would be consulted.  MJA would need to  know if a fully staffed air ambulance is required, and to support what condition/etc., or would something less be appropriate, etc.

What I wrote is that there is no need for the  local medical staff to be in some way declared unable to take suitable care, and, thus, in effect nix a transfer "because the patient is getting excellent care HERE"!, etc.  And for most regular medevacs, it would need to be determined that the local care was "unsatisfactory" in some way.  And *we* want to make that call, even if it is just a preference for "our regular physicians", etc.  (We both have tricky medical situations that can be very  difficult to manage and can become life-threatening.  Of course, this increases the chance that we wouldn't make it home in a very serious medical emergency, but we aren't going to stay home for the rest of our lives!)

 

And MJA also does need to determine that the patient is stable enough for even the best equipped air ambulance type of transport.  (IF not, then things are obviously pretty dire.  Of course, in that case, I.d also prefer to be at "the best" hospital!  There is obviously a "cut off", although it's not something that all med staff would definitely call at the same point.)

 

We travel with a variety of documents, hard copy and in the cloud, and that includes medical proxies, etc., should something like this happen.
Indeed, I'm assuming that when I was taken by ambulance from our hotel overseas to a hospital, DH had to have given all information and any consent requested, as I wasn't in any shape initially. And that's when we ALMOST called MJA, but just as we were getting ready to "make the call", I turned the corner.  After several more days, including time recuperating at the hotel (thank you travel insurance!), we were able to recover the final week of our trip, although I mostly sat around relaxing... but in beautiful surroundings.

 

Gc

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

I'm guessing no Evac coverage is going to let "you" make the sole call.  Otherwise, it would just be a free trip home on a private jet and that ain't gonna happen.  

Edited August 9, 2019 by ATSEAMYLIFE

[GeorgiaPeach51]

For what it’s worth we pay for all travel expenses with Our Chase Sapphire Visa.  In our opinion it does a good job covering travel mishaps, cancellations, trip interruptions.   Then we use Geo Blue to cover emergency medical.

[GeezerCouple]

4 hours ago, ATSEAMYLIFE said:

I'm guessing no Evac coverage is going to let "you" make the sole call.  Otherwise, it would just be a free trip home on a private jet and that ain't gonna happen.  

 

Good point!  😱

 

GC

[edgee]

5 hours ago, ATSEAMYLIFE said:

I'm guessing no Evac coverage is going to let "you" make the sole call.  Otherwise, it would just be a free trip home on a private jet and that ain't gonna happen.  

Agree with your point but four years after my wife was seriously ill from a nearly deadly infection coming from a scratch on her back (you never know)...your comment about a "private jet" brings a smile to my face now that everything is fine. The evacuating jet was far from a luxurious private jet. It was very tight in there with just me in an uncomfortable seat made of two thin cushions, two pilots and an EMT with my wife on a cot between us. No bathroom or sink...I could not stand up. Fortunately our evacuation was from Long Island to Washington DC...a short flight and we were treated very well.  Although our flight was short, the evac team told me that they use the same jet to evacuate folks from South America back to the U.S. They have to land for bathroom and refueling stops along the way. 

Edited August 10, 2019 by edgee
clarify

[susiesan]

Anyone ever used the Medicare Advantage plans benefit of worldwide coverage for emergency room or urgent care visits?

Let's say you fractured your ankle walking around in Europe. Would you get your ankle splinted/taped up in a local clinic and pay the bill upfront then get reimbursed by your Medicare Advantage insurer? 

Edited August 10, 2019 by susiesan

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

5 hours ago, susiesan said:

Anyone ever used the Medicare Advantage plans benefit of worldwide coverage for emergency room or urgent care visits?

Let's say you fractured your ankle walking around in Europe. Would you get your ankle splinted/taped up in a local clinic and pay the bill upfront then get reimbursed by your Medicare Advantage insurer? 

 

Never done it.  Granted Advantage plans are an entirely different animal than Supplement plans.  But my Plan F says it will only cover 80% of what Medicare would have covered.  If you have seen what Medicare covers that could be $5.00.  

[bunzini]

11 hours ago, susiesan said:

Anyone ever used the Medicare Advantage plans benefit of worldwide coverage for emergency room or urgent care visits?

Let's say you fractured your ankle walking around in Europe. Would you get your ankle splinted/taped up in a local clinic and pay the bill upfront then get reimbursed by your Medicare Advantage insurer? 

I have been wondering that as well.  Since I will soon be on Medicare, I have been wondering about care outside the US.  The advantage plan I am looking at says that coverage is as you stated in your first sentence.  I have been wondering if I should buy some Medical plan for travel outside the US.  

[1985rz1]

6 hours ago, ATSEAMYLIFE said:

 

Never done it.  Granted Advantage plans are an entirely different animal than Supplement plans.  But my Plan F says it will only cover 80% of what Medicare would have covered.  If you have seen what Medicare covers that could be $5.00.  

The rules on the Medicare site for Plan F says:

 

"Pays 80% of the billed charges for certain medically necessary emergency care outside the U.S. after you meet a $250 deductible for the year."

 

I would read that as 80% of the actual charges, not what Medicare would pay, after a $250 deductable.  Does your policy state something different?  I believe that all Plan Fs are required have the same benefits.

 

We still buy annual insurance for medical and evacuation since the Supplement plans are capped at a lifetime total of $50,000.

 

Edited August 11, 2019 by 1985rz1

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

Looks like you could be correct.  If you have the high deductible Plan F then you have to pay $2250 of the billed before the supp plan pays anything, with the lifetime cap of $50,000  

 

Very interesting note is Plan F won't be available after January 2020.  If you have it you can keep it but no new participants.  

 

Apparently not all Plan F's are the same.  There are three states that are different.