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Emergency Medical Insurance - Best of Eastern Europe Trip

Posted by on

This was originally posted yesterday in the Poland section. Didn't notice there was a general Europe topic. Thanks to those who replied yesterday:

Forgive me if this question has been asked before. We will be traveling to Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, and Croatia on a Rick Steves tour. I have a Medicare Advantage health care plan that does cover emergency medical care worldwide including emergency transportation to a hospital. They advise me that they will cover me but I would have to pay out-of-pocket and make a claim when I return. I plan on getting separate flight evacuation insurance for travel home should that be necessary.

Does anybody have a sense of hospitalization/emergency care costs in these five countries? Do they have socialized medicine? I don't know if my credit cards would cover a spendy emergency surgery for example.

Yes it would be nice if there was insurance I could rely on for immediate payment (if that is even available) but the idea of for double or triple medical coverage seems redundant and overkill.

Any experience or thoughts?

Posted by
32249 posts

As I recall, the RS tours provide a suggested medical insurance company (Trip Guard?). If you're concerned about having to pay out-of-pocket, you could take out an extra policy that pays "up front". One concern that you'd have to address is which policy would be the "first Payor".

All of the countries you mentioned have either universal health care systems, a mandatory insurance program or some combination of the two. There are few countries in the developed countries that don't have some type of universal health care.

Posted by
5697 posts

But don't confuse national health care system with free health care. In Germany, my doctor visit and prescription would have been free IF I had been a EU resident with insurance card, but as a foreigner I was charged (€25 for a visit that at home would have been billed out at $100+)

Posted by
1172 posts

Nationalized health care/socialized health care is for the citizens of those countries not for tourists coming to visit If you are concerne about having to pay upfront, look into Travel guard as previously suggested
Sounds like a wonderful trip!

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