travel insurance

[Corinne Marie]

Do not ever use Holland America;s travel insurance.  It has been such a hassle trying to get reimbursed for using the ship doctor.  Medicare does not pay for foreign visits with doctors, hence the need for travel insurance.  Thank God it was only 206 dollars.  They will not pay if I do not have a denial from Medicare even though they admit that Medicare will not pay for this visit.  I have used Allianz for a foreign doctor visit this summer and they reimbursed us with not questions asked.  I know who I will use in the future.

[Shmoo here]

3 minutes ago, Corinne Marie said:

Do not ever use Holland America;s travel insurance.  It has been such a hassle trying to get reimbursed for using the ship doctor.  Medicare does not pay for foreign visits with doctors, hence the need for travel insurance.  Thank God it was only 206 dollars.  They will not pay if I do not have a denial from Medicare even though they admit that Medicare will not pay for this visit.  I have used Allianz for a foreign doctor visit this summer and they reimbursed us with not questions asked.  I know who I will use in the future.

It's not unusual for any travel insurance (cruise line or 3rd party) to deny payment until your primary health coverage denies payment.  That's how it's done - you get sick, you see the doctor, you pay up front, you submit claim to your primary provider, you get denied (for whatever reason it is), THEN you submit to the travel insurance.

 

 

[wyobean]

Our Advantage program reimburses us for medical outside the US. You must pay and then present an itemized statement in English.

[wesport]

We had a 100 dollar bill from the medical center several years ago. My insurance I had for the cruise which was non Holland America, required me to submit the bill to Medicare and get denied.  I then forwarded the bill to the insurance company I had for the cruise. Six weeks later, they reimbursed me. That's how it is done.

[Roz]

It's a hassle and can be time consuming, but that's how it's done.  You may have purchased primary insurance thru Allianz, not secondary.

[lcand1923]

My Dad had to use Ship's Doctors several times through the years.  He was on Medicare.  I ALWAYS had to get copies of his denials before the Travel Insurance (usually Allianz) would cover the claim.  I got so good at filing claims that our Travel Agent would give my name to their clients (with my permission) if they had any questions.  My first question would be, "Have you filed with Medicare?"

[GeezerCouple]

3 hours ago, Roz said:

It's a hassle and can be time consuming, but that's how it's done.  You may have purchased primary insurance thru Allianz, not secondary.

 

This - primary coverage, rather than secondary - is helpful for anyone, but especially those on Medicare, as that can take a long time for the denial.

 

"Primary" coverage means that it "goes first", and one does not need to get a denial from another insurer, including one's regular health insurance (which includes Medicare).

 

OP might want to browse through CC's section on travel insurance:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/

 

to get more of a feel for how this can all work, in many regards.

GC