MEDICAL ASSISTANCE ON SHIP

Old Dec 29th, 2007, 07:36 AM
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MEDICAL ASSISTANCE ON SHIP

Has anyone encountered serious medical problem e.g stroke, heart attack, on board during AT SEA days. If so can you advise daily cost of care in U.S dollars.

Interesting in assessing adequacy of travel insurance coverage. Thanks for help.
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Old Dec 29th, 2007, 09:23 AM
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Problems as you have described are not meant to be taken care of on a ships sick bay. They would transport you off asap. Recently a girl with a ruptured appendix was evacuated off the Dawn Princess via copter to a USN aircraft carries which had the facilities to operate and did so successfully. So by all means get travel insurance.
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Old Dec 29th, 2007, 09:55 AM
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Unfortunately, I became very ill on the Celebrity Millennium two years ago. We were at sea, but were scheduled to be in Antigua the next day. The doctors on board found a surgeon on the island and arranged a tranfers for me by port agent. Be warned, once you are off the ship and in the hands of a port agent the cruise line doesn't know where you are or how to help you. The doctor I saw had been educated at Columbia in NY, but was a native to the island. I received his personal attention for the better part of three hours, had every test known to man, even an endoscopy in his office. Once my condition was proved not to be non- surgical he made sure I got back on the ship. He did not want me to go to St. John's hospital nor did I. Once back on the ship the ship's doctors wanted me to stay in the infirmary for observation. I was still sick, but was feeling better after IV fluids and meds. The crew on the Millennium made my "captivity" as pleasant as possible. They brought movies for me, my duvet and special pillows from my stateroom and I had white glove service of tea and toast from my cabin steward. After a few hours I was allowed to return to my cabin and although weak, I resumed my cruise experience without further incident. That having been said be aware that your travel insurance will pay, bbut unless you request emergency cash you will have to pay the fees up front and be reimbursed. The doctor on the island took Visa and my total bill was about $1500 US. If you don't have a lot of cash or a large credit line you will need to request emergency cash from your travel insurance.
also, be aware that your travel insurance is secondary to your regular health and hospitalization. The latter must pay or deny coverage before your travel insurance will kick in. Travel insurance will cover your deductible and your co-pay. Also, be aware that your regular insurance will probably pay the regular and customary charge for medical services in teh US regardless of your actual expenses out of the country. When I received a check from them, I thought they had made a mistake. Health care costs in the Caribbean are much less than in the US. The health care, although adequate, is frightening because the standard of care is far less than what we are accustomed to i the US. The only time I saw a pair of latex gloves during my experience was when the doctor tied off my arm to run an IV. He used the glove to tie off the arm, not on his hands! The doctors and nurses on the ship were all educated outside the US. The doctors in Columbia (the country) and the nurses in Romania. Needless to say I was quite concerned. These crew members are independant contractors so if anything goes wrong the cruise line will most probably deny any liability. The charges for your onboard care will be added to your cruise account and they can be several hundred if not thousands of dollars. Again, you must pay up front. The good news is that the insurance companies pay quickly and well, at least mine did.

Warning, my doctors at home who checked me out after the trip, told me that if I were ever faced with this situation again NOT to go to an island hospital. Contact your consulate, embassy, the Marines or whoever you have to so that you can be medivaced back to the US. It is comforting to know that the US Navy will save the day if you are at sea just as they did for that little girl a couple of weeks ago in the Pacific when she needed surgery on Princess ship.

Most ships are equppied with crash carts etc . . . for heart attack, but I don't think that they have clot buster drugs which can be the difference between life and death in a blockage situation. My husband's doctor has warned us about this as he has had a heart attack. Our health concerns have made a big difference in where we will now travel.

My advice is to always buy the travel insurance. Check to see where your regular insurance will be taken in each port of call. If you have a specific medical need e.g. cardiologist, locate a physician in each port of call who is registered with your insurance company. The company will provide you this information usually on its website. Travel with the contact info for all consulates and embassies. Have a contact person at home that is familiar with your health history and who is capable of assisting you in the US in case you require emergency help.

Don't be afraid to travel, but travel prepared for an emergency. If you find yourself in an emergency always be aggressive in demanding answers to your questions about plan of care, diagnosis, evacuation plan, speaking to a US representative. If you are hesitant about traveling overseas, travel in this country.
There are plenty of wonderful places to go and things to do and US healthcare is always here!
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Old Dec 29th, 2007, 10:09 AM
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Someone had a heart problem on Princess, off the coast of Tasmania. We had to turn around and go back, so the lady could be taken care of in Tasmania. Ship`s only do basic care. If you have severe nausea and vomiting, they might keep you overnight with an IV, but one of the nurses has to stay over especially for that. It isn`t meant for people who have anything more than short term problems or any serious problems either. Can you imagine the liability of trying to treat a seriously ill patient, other than just care until the patient can be transported? I am a nurse and I went specifically down to the medical clinic and asked a lot of questions. You need travel insurance.
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Old Dec 29th, 2007, 11:42 AM
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Most private health insurance pays towards these expenses. BUT Medicaid and Medicare will not work outside of US - keep that in mins as you assess coverage.
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Old Dec 29th, 2007, 11:47 AM
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Thank you all so much for detailed replies. Lizaj1 - dont quite understand how charges for onboard care can be so high if there is really nothing much they can do medically. It is not like they can be charging for hospital bed and food surely, even if one felt like eating, or can they, if they are independant contractors ?

Certainly good tip to try to avoid island hospitals - same for Costa Rica and Panama I wonder ?
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Old Dec 29th, 2007, 01:58 PM
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We have Med Jet which covers evacuation back to your home hospital, not just the closest one. I wouldn't consider traveling without it.
http://medjet.com/
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Old Dec 29th, 2007, 02:09 PM
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I'm in agreement about Medjet. I wouldn't leave home without it especially when you hear horror stories of evacuation costing over $100,000. Some insurances, if you read carefully, will only cover you to the "nearest suitable facility".
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Old Jan 5th, 2008, 03:00 PM
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My understanding of the charges for medical onboard are that they equal customary inpatient charges if they keep you in their beds for observation. Of course running IVs and other drug therapy is billed to you. You receive an itemized bill, but make sure they write clearly and provide the appropriate pharmaceutical billing numbers and dosages or you will have difficulty with drug reimbursement.

I want to emphasize that I received excellent care and concern on Millennium. It is frightening to be so far away from home and not knowing what is medically wrong. They did their best to make me feel at ease after I returned to the ship.

I have never heard of Medjet. Can someone supply more info?
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Old Jan 5th, 2008, 03:39 PM
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Just went to the Medjet website. Why would you travel without this coverage? Even if you only travel out of the country 7 days per year the temporary membership is well worth the premium. None of my travel agents have ever even mentioned this supplemental coverage. You get to choose the hospital you go to, not the nearest adequate facility. When I'm sick I want more than "adequate"; I want the best. Look into this coverage. It looks fantastic!
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Old Jan 7th, 2008, 07:38 AM
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How happy I am that I had found this thread...AFTER I had cruised! LOL

Tons of great usefull stuff here, thanks!
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Old Jan 8th, 2008, 06:56 AM
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I'm going by memory but with medjet as I recall you do not need to be out of the country. I think it's in effect if you're 150 miles from home.
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Old Jan 8th, 2008, 07:13 AM
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Yes, as long as you hospitalized and are more than 150 miles from home you are covered.
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