Supplement to Health Insurance Coverage

[rtdiva]

We have health care coverage by our HMO, however, bills need to be paid upfront to the foreign or local institutions providing the emergency care. Our HMO will pay AFTER the bill is submitted upon returning home. 
 

We have sailed for years without insurance, now as we’ve aged, we are pushing our luck by not getting coverage. I don’t care about lost luggage. 
 

How should we approach buying supplemental health coverage for a three month cruise?  I’m considering MedJet, extra credit cards etc. 

 

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

 

Ann

[Hlitner]

Ann, Before I address some of your issues I would suggest you call a decent travel insurance broker such as Steve Dasseos (tripinsurance.com) and ask him how to best address your concerns.  That being said you need to understand that nearly all travel medical insurance expects you to pay the bills and later seek reimbursement.  Some plans such as from Geoblue do work with some foreign medical providers and do direct pay, but their networks are limited and not guaranteed.  

 

You also mentioned Medjet (medjetassist.com) which offers some excellent trip evacuation policies.  However Medjet does not cover medical bills and you cannot simply ask to be evacuated since the policy requires you to first be a patient in a hospital with your attending physician, receiving physician and the insurance company all agreeing that the transfer is medically appropriate.

 

Just a warning about your HMO coverage (outside the country).  You should carefully review the details of the coverage.  In most cases it is based on what your HMO calls "usual and customary" cost which may or may not be similar to what a foreign provider actually charges.   There also may be co-pays and payment limitations which is why folks need to carefully review their policies and request clarification from your insurer if you have any questions.

 

And finally I always suggest folks carefully review any policy to see if it will cover COVID related illness.  Many travel policies specifically EXCLUDE paying for care related to COVID or other pandemics.  COVID can be a very expensive medical problem and should not be ignored when buying insurance.

 

Hank

[Darcy03231]

I have insurance through work and purchased travel insurance for a trip to the Bahamas.  Per the travel policy my health insurance was primary and the travel insurance secondary.  While on the trip I developed a UTI.  I was seen locally and it was $200, which I had to pay for at the time of service.  When I came home I submitted the claim to my health insurance.  They applied it to my out of network deductible ($6500).  I appealed and lost.  I then submitted it to my travel insurance.   They denied it based on the fact that my health insurance accepted the claim and applied it toward my deductible.  Luckily for me it wasn't a huge out-of-pocket bill.  

 

I now make sure that any travel policy I buy has primary medical coverage.