We are an older couple who have been to Europe, mainly France, many times over the last 15 years. At this point in our lives we are thinking we should have some type of health insurance coverage. We do have riders on our U.S. health insurance, but think perhaps it would be prudent have something more. We would love some suggestions and / or stories of experiences. We have both had experiences with doctors and hospitals in smaller French communities which were excellent. Thanks much for any and all comments. Mike and Mary.
Posted by
Chicago
8831 posts
If your medigap policy covers you for 60 days it will NOT cover you for the first 60 days of a 90 day trip. This was something that surprised me but I investigated it and that was the policy I was told. You need a travel policy that has 90 days coverage. We have an annual Alianz policy that covers 90 days. We have never tested it and hope to never do so. We had a single trip policy with Alianz several years ago when I broke an elbow and was hospitalized and had surgery and they paid the hospital directly and then reimbursed me for follow up care and PT in Paris -- this let us continue our 10 week trip rather than being flown home. I think it saved them money and our trip. So our one experience with them was positive. We hope to never find out again LOL.
Annual policies are not cheap for old people like us but then neither are trip policies for 90 days for old people but they are essential. We travel twice a year so an annual policy works for us. You should compare annual and trip only policies to see what works for you. And there are lots of different types of policies; you need the one that covers 90 days and for the full cost of the trip for expenses that cannot be recovered through cancellation.
And FWIW you should be planning the trip for 89 days as it is easy to run afoul of the Schengen 90 day rule by miscalculating (arrival and exit day count) or if your trip were to be delayed a day which can easily happen.
Posted by
1133 posts
We purchase our international travel medical insurance with GeoBlue. I know Allianz is another popular plan. We used it on our trip last year in France, when an unexpected foot injury put us in an urgent care equivalent situation in a medium size community. Of course the bill for the doctor and facilities was minimal, (especially compared to US) and our policy cost more than the charges incurred. But, what if it had been a more extensive situation? We kept all receipts and submitted them online and were reimbursed in a timely matter. We too consider the care we received excellent; though it took us 3 tries to get to the appropriate medical facility as we were sent from one place to the next.
Posted by
Chicago
8831 posts
Another good point above. My 4 nights in the hospital, surgery and all associated costs except 15 Euro for the fiberglass for the cast (my husband had to go to a pharmacy and buy it as the standard free cast was plaster) came to about $4000. There was a daily cost for surgical and for medical patients posted in the business office. Of course locals pay nothing, but for those not resident the costs were still fairly low. An equivalent experience in a US hospital would have cost tens of thousands of dollars and of course not involved that many days in the hospital so I would have been sent home with drainage tubes hanging off my arm.
so aobut $4000 for 4 days in hospital and attendant costs of surgery, anesthesia, meds including my regular meds and room and board and care. In the US I had the wires removed from the elbow about a year later. It was an outpatient procedure and I came home in a cab. The cost billed to insurance was $18000 and I paid bout $1200 of that. In France again there would have been a very small charge and they would have paid the cab fare for residents. When my French friend had arm surgery in Paris, a nurse came to her home daily to check and change the dressing once she was discharged.