High medical costs

[phillygwm]

3 hours ago, argyll1881 said:

I think I would have to have a sucking chest wound before using the medical facilities on an NCL ship.

Stuff happens.  I've never had occasion to use the facilities, thankfully, and hopefully won't.  But when you have that radiating pain going down your left arm you'll be glad it's there 🙂

[billslowsky]

11 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

I wonder what they would have done if you said "this is too much, I refuse to sign the consent form". It's not like they can make you return the medical services they performed.

 

I guess they could sue you for the money, but what else could they do. Maybe bar you from ever cruising on their line, but what else. It's not like they could make you work off your debt as a galley slave.

They likely have your credit card info...

[Babr]

1 minute ago, billslowsky said:

They likely have your credit card info...

Yes, it is added to your onboard account. I imagine the charges are run on the credit card prior to disembarkation whether you like it or not because you have authorized the card to pay for onboard services.  All you can do after that is dispute it with your credit card company, but I doubt it would be successful because it was payment for a service performed.

[phillygwm]

9 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

Many places do not have the requirement that is common here in the USA which to "treat emergencies NOW; worry about payment later..."

 

Believe it or not, for many years, the US didn't have the requirement.  Until the 1986 Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, emergency rooms could (and sometimes did) turn people away for inability to pay.   Most larger cities had hospitals of "last resort" for just this reason.  

[ChiefMateJRK]

This thread reminds me of why I've committed to only purchase Activity level "1" shore excursions.

 

Yes, I know that the shore excursion isn't on the ship, but many minor aches/sprains/tears would likely be treated back on the ship.

[cruiserbear55]

3 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

This thread reminds me of why I've committed to only purchase Activity level "1" shore excursions.

 

Yes, I know that the shore excursion isn't on the ship, but many minor aches/sprains/tears would likely be treated back on the ship.

   You're sure the real reason you pick level 1 excursions isn't that you're not as young as you used to be, like the rest of us?

[cruiserbear55]

3 hours ago, Babr said:

Yes, it is added to your onboard account. I imagine the charges are run on the credit card prior to disembarkation whether you like it or not because you have authorized the card to pay for onboard services.  All you can do after that is dispute it with your credit card company, but I doubt it would be successful because it was payment for a service performed.

   What would happen if your credit card had insufficient credit to pay the bill? What would they (NCL) do then . Just wondering.

[BirdTravels]

NCL has a price list for services (example below).  If you are really I’ll, they will get you off the ship to a medical facility. 
 

[ontheweb]

4 hours ago, Babr said:

I expect the consent to treatment form was presented before the OP saw the doctor or received the bill. Refusal to sign would probably mean he would have been denied service. 

I read his post as he had to sign the consent form after reading the bill, but after rereading his posts, I believe I got it wrong. You are probably correct when you said it had to be signed before treatment.

[GeezerCouple]

32 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

NCL has a price list for services (example below).  If you are really I’ll, they will get you off the ship to a medical facility. 
 

 

Thanks.

That was really good to know, actually.  And the prices didn't look outrageous, although as more and more need to be done, including to do rule-outs, they would add up.

They can do more procedures than I expected (but perhaps not enough for something really serious...).

 

As I mentioned above, we were quite impressed with the treatment that DH received, and his situation probably would have been, uh, extremely bad.... without the treatment they gave prior to calling the ambulance.  We remain very, very grateful.

GC

[Babr]

1 hour ago, cruiserbear55 said:

   What would happen if your credit card had insufficient credit to pay the bill? What would they (NCL) do then . Just wondering.

That is an interesting question. Can’t say that I know for sure. I wouldn’t be surprised if they do a credit check for unusual charges. If it is declined, they’d deal with it before you disembarked.

[snorklinbarb]

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

NCL has a price list for services (example below).  If you are really I’ll, they will get you off the ship to a medical facility. 
 

First time to see a complete list like this, thanks.

There was no charge for covid PCR or quarantine.  Excellent care provided.  

For the few extra pills I needed for 1 prescription I asked what the charge would be.  Told that "because of age" there would be no charge of 10 pills.  Very pleased with that.

 

Some lady on Santorini, despite warnings not to use the donkeys, did and must have had a stumble.  Needed x-rays for what she thought was broken rib.  And then started fight over charges.  Had zip to do with NCL or any negligence on their part.  She received excellent care and then complained.

 

 

[phillygwm]

6 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

NCL has a price list for services (example below).  If you are really I’ll, they will get you off the ship to a medical facility. 
 

Fascinating.  I figured broken bones, wound care, cardiac, uncontrolled diabetes, etc. would be stuff they see frequently.  But a lot of non-emergent stuff on the list: STD testing?  Can't you wait until you get back to shore? 🙂

[GeezerCouple]

3 minutes ago, phillygwm said:

Fascinating.  I figured broken bones, wound care, cardiac, uncontrolled diabetes, etc. would be stuff they see frequently.  But a lot of non-emergent stuff on the list: STD testing?  Can't you wait until you get back to shore? 🙂

 

Um... it's a CRUISE SHIP!

Don't you watch the TV shows and movies?

😉

GC

[geleisen]

On 6/4/2022 at 2:50 PM, Firsttimecruiser1111122 said:

My health insurer will cover it, but at local rates. I live in the Netherlands, so at equivalent rates there

Just some advice for the future, pretty much every health insurance plan in NL has the option to add coverage up to the full local rate for small amount each month. I don't know any insurer which doesn't offer this. Normally like 50 cents to 2 EUR per month. It was great when I was in Thailand and made the mistake of going to a private hospital instead of a public hospital and after only few hours and very little treatment, gave me a bill of like 2500 EUR. But the health insurance's international department called them directly to arrange payment, so I didn't have to pay anything directly, just my eigen risico later. That was with VGZ or Zilveren Kruis, can't remember, but works pretty much the same with all of them. I highly recommend it for next year, it is well worth it for the peace of mind. 

[Shellbelle28]

You are essentially going to a private clinic when you use medical services aboard a ship so national medical plans are out the window. Yes, it's your only choice when you are on the ship, but that's how it is viewed, unfortunately. The services are a for-profit ,third party contractor for the cruise line so prices are high. Though in the US, an emergency room visit with the services you describe might even cost more than you were charged onthe ship!

Edited June 7, 2022 by Shellbelle28

[ontheweb]

27 minutes ago, Shellbelle28 said:

You are essentially going to a private clinic when you use medical services aboard a ship so national medical plans are out the window. Yes, it's your only choice when you are on the ship, but that's how it is viewed, unfortunately. The services are a for-profit ,third party contractor for the cruise line so prices are high. Though in the US, an emergency room visit with the services you describe might even cost more than you were charged onthe ship!

Yes, going by my wife's experience earlier this year in an emergency room, the bill would be astronomical. But then the insurance company would pay a much lower agreed amount that they have negotiated and you would pay your co-pay.

[Shellbelle28]

12 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Yes, going by my wife's experience earlier this year in an emergency room, the bill would be astronomical. But then the insurance company would pay a much lower agreed amount that they have negotiated and you would pay your co-pay.

Yes. We have a high deductible plan so in "healthy" years we don't even reach the point of insurance paying. 

[geleisen]

39 minutes ago, Shellbelle28 said:

You are essentially going to a private clinic when you use medical services aboard a ship so national medical plans are out the window. 

Actually, in the Netherlands, where OP is from, the national basic health insurance plan is obliged to cover treatment worldwide up to the Dutch rate. So if you receive treatment for something which would cost, say 100 EUR in Netherlands, the insurer must cover at least 100 EUR wherever you get this treatment. And healthcare in Netherlands is not so cheap, so this is usually enough, however, obviously nothing can compare to healthcare prices for North American market, so this would not be enough. But that is why the plans in NL offer to cover the full international rate for a small charge. So I wouldn't say that national plans are out the window because every country has its own system, and plenty of them offer some level of coverage internationally. 

[jennjess]

On 6/5/2022 at 10:28 PM, geleisen said:

Just some advice for the future, pretty much every health insurance plan in NL has the option to add coverage up to the full local rate for small amount each month. I don't know any insurer which doesn't offer this. Normally like 50 cents to 2 EUR per month. It was great when I was in Thailand and made the mistake of going to a private hospital instead of a public hospital and after only few hours and very little treatment, gave me a bill of like 2500 EUR. But the health insurance's international department called them directly to arrange payment, so I didn't have to pay anything directly, just my eigen risico later. That was with VGZ or Zilveren Kruis, can't remember, but works pretty much the same with all of them. I highly recommend it for next year, it is well worth it for the peace of mind. 

Yes we had this extra coverage via the health insurance and thankfully the emergency call number arranged with the hospital that took care of my son that all bills would be paid by them in full (apart from the eigen risico 385 euros) and we did not have to pay up front.  Definitely worth the extra few euros a month for that peace of mind.  No idea wht the final bill will be but it will be shockingly huge I'm sure.

[destar]

Since we are talking about insurance, I have a couple of trips lined up in the next 12 months. I rarely purchase insurance when booking my trips or airfare, but with all the stories I've read about travelers, getting sick while on vacation, I am considering getting a yearly policy for my upcoming trips. Can anyone recommend a good company that offers a yearly coverage for medical, trip cancellation/interruption/delays and lost/delayed luggage.

[ontheweb]

45 minutes ago, destar said:

Since we are talking about insurance, I have a couple of trips lined up in the next 12 months. I rarely purchase insurance when booking my trips or airfare, but with all the stories I've read about travelers, getting sick while on vacation, I am considering getting a yearly policy for my upcoming trips. Can anyone recommend a good company that offers a yearly coverage for medical, trip cancellation/interruption/delays and lost/delayed luggage.

There is a forum on cruisecritic devoted to insurance. You might want to ask your question there.

 

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