Travel Health Insurance

Knock on wood, I've never had to file a claim but I use this outfit: http://www.medexassist.com

Knock on wood, neither my wife or I have ever had any kind of insurance for our journeys.

There was a good, succinct article in the NY Times travel section, yesterday, on this topic. Everyone should read it, both those who advocate being insured and those who think it's a waste of money. One thing the author says is to first check your existing insurance very carefully. Duh, you say? Well, as a Medicare recipient I thought I KNEW I wasn't covered outside the US. However, last month my disclosure booklet came for Kaiser's Senior Advantage; and in looking it over, I think I read that not only do they cover treatment, but transportation to the nearest Kaiser facility, as well. Nothing I could see said from within the US only. Before our next trip, I'll do as the author recommends and get complete clarification. The author also gives a good perspective on how to think about all the components of travel insurance and some references to websites, in addition to the ones often mentioned here.

here's the article: http://tinyurl.com/bgrtxl3 Not a big fan of the article, the reporter's evaluation of evacuation coverage is ridiculous. According to him you only need it if you are hiking or mountain climbing in a "distant land". Breaking ones hip falling in the hotel shower is probably a more likely scenario.....

Thank you all for your replies. This is very helpful - especiall Rosalyn. We are Kaiser Senior members - I'll call now to verify that we are covered traveling overseas.

I always use Travel Guard. It's a package including healthcare coverage.

Jeanne, be sure you understand thoroughly what you hear from Kaiser Senior Advantage. I too am a member (or at least I was when I traveled this past summer) and I too did some research and asked questions. The way I understood it doctor and/or emergency room visits will probably be covered at the "out of network" rate but you have to pay up front and collect later. In patient hospitalization and/or surgery would be part of Medicare which does not cover you out of the country. Medical evacuation back to the US would not be covered. If you find out different, please PM me with that info. Because I did not want to mess with paying up front and collecting later if anything happened, I opted for travel medical insurance through TravelGuard. It was not horribly expensive (based on the long length of my trip-2 months) and it gave me a lot of peace of mind.

Nancy, thank you so much. I had come to the same decision after further investigation of our Kaiser plan. I used TravelGuard on our last trip and wonder if anyone has had to use the insurance. It seems good and is reasonably priced, as you point out.

One point about medical evacuation. With most policies, the decision re whether you need to be evacuated is made by the insurance company (in all its supportive humanity). After seeing an insurance company decide some surgery that a travel companion required could be done in Luxor, Egypt, I decided I didn't want an insurance company making that decision for me. I have a policy from MedJet Assist (which can be booked per year, as I do, or for a few weeks for a specific trip). If you (or your guardian), the doctor caring for you, and a doctor at home agree that you can be safely transported, they will transport you home at your request (or the request of your guardian). This policy also works within the US if you are more than a defined distance from home... I don't remember the exact distance, but it's short, maybe one or two hundred miles, I seem to remember. It's not an expensive policy, and I find the peace of mind worth it. In my experience, lots of folks change their minds about the need for insurance after they get really sick one time (and realize it can happen to anyone).

Thank you, Sherry. This is excellent advice. We traveled for many years without insurance and have been very lucky, but after hearing of other's experiences - and knowing we don't have the resources to cover a medical emergency while traveling, we are being more cautious.