Travel Medical Insurance For People Over 65

This is one of the biggest companies that provides travel insurance for all ages: http://www.medexassist.com Prices are variable depending on age and other factors.

JD Usually travel insurance is based on age and the cost of the trip. Please read the fine print carefully. Note it is NOT Cancel for Any Reason insurance; usually it has only specific reasons that you can cancel. Also most offer coverage of pre--existing conditions if purchased within the first 2 weeks of purchasing the first component of your trip. Travel insurance is used for all of those elements of your trip that are pre-paid. Make sure there is enough Medical and Return to the Nearest Major Medical Center coverage (there is a word for this but I can't remember it now). The more exotic the destination, the more of both of these you need. Safaris are isolated and only have a few flights per week to return you to a major city for medical care. So you might need the services of a private fight! Yikes, you can imagine the cost of that! Remember your medical needs might not be life threatening but what if you break your ankle. Somehow I think you would need Business or First Class to return to the US. You will probably have to elevate and keep your leg straight. And insuance will cover this. Can you guess what a last minute Business class or First Class ticket would cost? It is valuable and necessary. Good you are checking on it now. There is a website that compares differient travel insurance policies. Just don't remember what it is. Bobbie

American Express has medical travel insurance for holders of any of their cards. It is very reasonable; I used it four years ago. You have to be sure to take it out several weeks before your trip, I forgot how many, perhaps three, to cover existing conditions. The fee is per month (at the time under $15) and you can cancel when you get back home. At the time I had it, it also covered transportation back home (dead or alive). Kicks in where your other insurance leaves off. Look at www.insuremytrip.com, I think it compares rates etc. This may be what the previous poster referred to. By the way, I did not have occasion to use the insurance.

Medicare Part B by itself doesn't cover care outside the US, but some Medicare supplemental policies will cover emergency overseas care, with limits such as you describe. When you buy your Medicare supplemental policy, there'll be a variety of plans available to you. Just pick the plan that includes foreign coverage. If you want broader coverage than you can get with a Medicare supplement, as Anna says, you can find a rundown of companies at www.insuremytrip.com If you want to be covered for medical evacuation from a European hospital to the hospital of your choice back in the US, check into Medjet Assist. http://medjetassist.com/

Hi JD, I am over 65 and on Medicare so I'm interested in the responses you get from those that have used travel medical ins. I do have a website you can try. I haven't used it yet, but it was recommended to me. www.healthcareinternational.com
I'm planning a trip to France this summer and was planning on checking this out. Hope you get other good responses to compare.

I'm eligible to purchase a medicare supplement or medicare advantage insurance through a group (ex-public employees). All of these plans, about a half dozen or so, offer worldwide coverage to some extent. Possibly you have similar options. We have a medicare advantage plan that covered 100 percent of a hospital ER visit in Turkey! But you asked for specifics. However, these plans I mentioned above are only available in my state. I believe you'll have to research those that are available to you in New England, or consider a temporary travel insurance (see: insuremytrip.com). Good luck.

The other thing you need to look at is whether you have some insurance already. For example, there is a travel insurance component with our AAA membership. (Checking the particulars is on my to-do list.) Some credit cards also have some sort of travel insurance. Also keep in mind that there are two prongs to the question: treatment and evacuation. You might get treated at little or no cost, but a 1st class ticket home - - or 2 if you need an attendant - - would cost a bundle. Be sure, therefore, that you get enough insurance for the latter.
Note that it's a little hard to compare other people's costs because the premiums vary according to your age and the length of the trip.

I am a senior on Medicare whose coverage does not extend to Europe so I sign up with TravelGuard. It has a smorgasboard of choices that I use for airfare, hotel, medical and evacuation. It must (?) be purchased almost immediately after making your first travel commitment, that being a RS Tour, airfare, hotel, etc. but once you sign up after that first purchase, you can add other elements as you schedule them. I believe that almost immediate purchase requirement is so that any pre-existing issues will be covered.
It was reasonably priced when I shopped around 2 years ago.

Two years ago we purchased supplemental travel insurance for the first time (insuremytrip.com) and, guess what, we had to use it. We were in France and my husband was hospitalized. We were very pleased with the coverage. Our insurance at home did cover some of the costs, but the coverage through insuremytrip covered the rest. We did find out how cheap the hospitalization and medical tests were in France compared to the U.S.!

Sharon,, the States medical costs seem very high to me here in Canada. Back in 1992 we had to pay 300 dollars to have a doctor in Hawaii stick some tweezers up my 2 yr olds nose and withdraw a flower bud he had "sniffed up"( don't ask, lol ) . We were covered after submitting bill to our insurance, but really, 300 dollars and we were literally in the office for less then 5 minutes.No meds not dressings,, just long tweezers and a good light. Great profit margin built in I'd say,, lol , now i imagine its about 500 dollars!

JD,
I just rechecked my coverage under my Medicare Advantage supplemental and it does cover emergency med care anywhere in the world, but it does not cover flight home (or to another medical facility if you're out in the wild somewhere). So, as others have said, when you sign up for Medicare it would behoove you to add a supplement plan if you are a traveller, and check them all out before signing up to see what they cover.

I agree with another post. We have used American Epress medical insurance for six years now. We have used them six years in a row in fact. Their rates are really reasonable. We had to make a claim after visitng Australia five years ago and didn't have any problems doing so. Their phone number is (800) 437-9209. You have to order the insurance about two weeks in advance of leaving so you can get your I.D. and papers. Then when you come back, you just call and cancel the insurance. Elaine

Nancy, I'm glad you checked your MedAdvantage policy and have coverage. The MedAdvantage plans vary GREATLY so others need to check carefully. If you buy thru an insurance agent, don't rely on their information regarding MedAdvantage and travel, make sure you talk with a rep from the company. Some won't even cover out of state. (Speaking from experience as a retired hospital social worker!!)

There are several components to medical insurance to consider. There is the actual medical care coverage, there is medical evacuation coverage which would pay for transportation to a local hospital or to your home hospital and there is repatriation coverage for the return of one's body in the event of death. http://www.squaremouth.com/ compares coverage and prices of dozens of companies for all types of travel insurance.

My mother has as a supplementental plan via AARP. She went through the various plans they have and picked the one that gave her "out of country" coverage. It has a deductible, but a much higher lifetime then the OP indicates. We have not had to use it so.... However, for domestic we have used it and it's picked up EVERYTHING Medicare didn't cover which was good :)

I learned something interesting the other day. We booked a transatlantic cruise and air with Holland America, and purchased the interruption/cancellation/medical insurance. After the cruise we travel independently and fly home 2 weeks later. As we bought our air with them, they will continue to provide all the insurance until our flight home. Otherwise, we'd have insured ourselves for the latter part of our trip.