My wife and I are spending the month of July in France. I'm leaving my job at the end of June, and we're both starting graduate school in August, so we'll be in between health insurance plans for the month of July.
Do we need to buy domestic coverage for July, or would a travel insurance plan, with medical coverage, be enough?
We did that. We didn't have any medical issues so don't know if we would have had problems otherwise. When I retired my husband was still not 65 and so didn't have medicare but would turn 65 in a couple of months and he was already retired and on my insurance. We traveled in Europe during that period and so we had travel insurance with medical coverage for that bridge before medicare kicked in.
Would there be any issue with pre-existing conditions by going without for a month if something happened during that month? With medicare we didn't have that issue, but you might if something happened during that month that meant you couldn't go to school. I would investigate how you could get insurance if the worst case scenario happened.
Also look at COBRA. You can sign up for COBRA and not pay for about 60 days. If you end up not needing the insurance you just never pay but if you have an issue, you can pay and COBRA kicks in. We did this so if my husband had had a major issue during that two months, we would have been able to use my old insurance on COBRA until he was on Medicare. Do your own investigation of this, but that is my understanding of it. You can get COBRA from your job and this provides the bridge.
I would not be without domestic coverage. If you suffer a catastrophic illness and need to be sent home, your travel coverage will stop when you reach the US. Per the prior poster look into COBRA or price a bridge plan on your state insurance exchange. For me it would be worth the peace of mind.
For all those who think medicare coverage will apply in foreign countries, please be aware that even if you use the same medical company when you switch over to medicare, and were covered before, medicare does NOT cover you overseas. If you are concerned, buy a plan to cover yourself for the trip. We were covered overseas under our HMO before we switched to medicare, but not afterward. As for COBRA coverage, check with your old plan about overseas coverage. Have a safe and healthy trip!
Most Medigap policies cover overseas medical care for 60 days. While Medicare part A and B don't cover travelers abroad most people have additional Medigap policies. Our concern of course was not emergency care abroad but rather being returned to the US and not having insurance during the gap two months, hence the COBRA hedge.
The most important thing to have is a policy for medical evacuation. I spent 4 days in the hospital and had surgery in France last year and the total cost was $4000. If I had had to be medically evacuated to the US the cost can easily run to 50K or more; that is the sort of thing you need to be insured for. Before we routinely took travel insurance, we had a Medjet Assist policy annually that covers this precise need.
I second what Janet said about COBRA. That is exactly what Kaiser told us to do when we were between job insurance and going back to grad school. They said sign up for our COBRA. You won't be billed for a couple of months. If nothing happens during this gap period, just ignore the bill. However, be sure you are covered overseas on this insurance policy! And what about medical evacuation insurance while out of the country? Odds are against you needing it, but what if you did? Does the job have that kind of coverage that can be extended, too?
Bets, I didn't know that about COBRA billing. Are there any consequences for not paying the initial bill? I might opt for that to have a backup. If we had to actually make a premium payment, though, it wouldn't be worth it.
Can you work until July 1? If you work one day in a month you should get health insurance for that whole month. If not I would definitely COBRA even if you were not traveling.
My COBRA advice was exactly the same as in the last paragraph of Janet's first post. This is what we did 25 years ago based on what our Kaiser Permanente business office told us. Bills arrived a couple of months after our need for COBRA coverage. You can ask your benefits rep.
Pam, I wish I could. It would solve a lot of problems. Unluckily, July 1 is a Saturday this year.
