ASSESSING YOUR TRAVEL HEALTH INSURANCE NEEDS

Thinking about taking that dream vacation outside the US?

This warning on page two of your US passport may surprise you:

HEALTH INSURANCE. Persons considering foreign travel should consider what health insurance coverage, if any, they require outside the United States. Medicare does not cover health costs outside the United States and its territories, except under limited circumstances in Canada and Mexico.

Most insurance plans cover you if you get sick away from home, with the exception of certain HMO’s and Medicare/Medicaid. Nearly all foreign hospitals require you to pay your bills upfront, however, and send you a refund after you’ve returned home and filed the necessary paperwork. Members of Blue Cross/Blue Shield can now use their cards at select hospitals in most major cities worldwide.

Check Your Existing Coverage

Verify your existing policies and credit card coverage before you buy travel health insurance. Your existing plan will provide the coverage you need in most cases. Check with your doctor before leaving if you have a medical condition. Wear a MedicAlert identification tag for conditions such as epilepsy, diabetes or heart problems. It will immediately alert doctors to your condition and give them access to your records through MedicAlert’s 24-hour hotline.

Having first-rate medical insurance does not always guarantee international travel insurance protection when you decide to travel to another country. You may need travel health insurance or another related travel insurance policy since a lot of situations can occur that may not be covered by your insurance back home. Planning a great trip begins with preparation for the unexpected and the best way to cover this is by buying extra insurance when you travel.

Some insurance plans cover a single trip and others cover all the trips you take during a year. Multi-trip plans generally put a limit on the duration of coverage during any one trip. You won’t be covered at all if your trip exceeds the limit (usually 30-70 days), so these plans aren’t appropriate for extended travel, study or work abroad. If you and your colleagues do a lot of business traveling, your company can buy group coverage.

You can find plans with riders that cover leisure sports such as jet skiing, scuba diving, and snorkeling. There are also policies for extreme sports – bungee jumping, mountaineering, skydiving, etc. Trip cancellation coverage is also available, so you can recover the loss of pre-paid, non-refundable tickets if you change your travel plans due to unforeseen events such as jury duty, illness, or a death in the family.

Some carriers provide emergency medical evacuation coverage. This means if you don’t like the look of the local hospitals, your insurance will pay your emergency medical travel to a US or US quality hospital. This can be a life saver if you’re in a under developed country. But it isn’t cheap. In some cases your coverage can include chartering a private plane to get you to help quickly.

Although you can get travel insurance to protect you, you’ll enjoy your trip much more if you don’t get sick in the first place. Keep in mind that the world we live in is not exactly a hygienic place, and in reality it’s home to an assortment of bacteria and viruses that are just waiting for the chance to slap your immune system around. It’s wise to take safety measures: according to the US Centers for Disease Control, food and waterborne diseases are number one causes of illness in travelers.

Traveling is one of life’s joys. But we should all be prepared for the worst. And remember, we don’t even drink the tap water in LA