Cost Medical Evacuation
 

Does anyone know the typical cost of a medical evacuation from ship to closest hospital on shore? Then from that hospital to your home?
Thank you
Sue

Wouldn't it depend on where the ship was, how the evacuation had to be done, where the nearest hospital was, etc? For example, helicopters can fly only so far, the ship might have to proceed to the next port of call or double back to the previous one, etc.

Lots of contingencies. My wife needed to go to a hospital in Cannes and we went by the tender and the cruise line's port agent drove us to the hospital. There was no charge, except the taxi back to the tender. We got a bill for 30 euros from the hospital

If the evacuation is by helicopter, then perhaps $10K, and then another $20K to $50K or so if you do a real medical evacuation flight. If by boat, perhaps half that followed by the medical evacuation costs. Of course, as everyone else says, it really depends on where you are and where the closest hospital is.

But medical evacuation is typically a very expensive proposition, which is why people get insurance that covers it.

who offers medical temporary supplemental insurance if you have veterans/medicare?

I do not know about VA insurance, but typical Medicare and supplement policies do not cover anything outside of the US, even regular health care. insuremytrip website has a variety of comprehensive and partial policies - and one for just medical evacuation is really quite cheap.

One thing to read in the very fine print is who gets to decide when you get evacuated. Often it is not your call and there is some clause about your needs not being able to be met in local facility. Also to where they evacuate - it might just be to closest mainland US hospital, not necessarily one near home or even a big city.

Some insurance policies have age limits, but everyone offers insurance for medicare/veterans recipients. Just remember that Medicate in particularly doesn't really work beyond the borders of the U.S., so if you are taking an international trip, your travel medical insurance is primary, not supplemental. I don't know if VA medical benefits stop at the international door like Medicare benefits do (for the most part, though there are some limited exceptions). But if you buy a travel insurance plan that includes medical and evacuation, you'll be fine. Though as gail says, you have to read the fine print.

Many people I know use the company medjetassit. It's a year policy or now you can get a short term for the length of your travel.

Oops. It's medjetassist.

But that is ONLY medical evacuation. It is not insurance that will reimburse you for the costs of treatment abroad. But it's a good service.

Sue, I would never risk going on a cruise without getting insurance to cover an evacuation and international care. The insurance is not that expensive.

Check with your own insurance agent first to see what options they can offer. We have compared prices between the offers from travel agents and our insurance agent several times and most times our insurance agent can get a slightly better price and explains the details more accurately. He is an independent agent, so has lots of options he can explore.

If you are reserving your cruise online, take a close look at their offers for insurance, but make sure you read the fine print carefully to make sure what all it covers. That is one of the biggest reasons I like to talk to my personal agent, he makes sure I get the coverage I need at a reasonable cost.

One last suggestion, if you are a member of AARP, AAA, Sam's Club, or any other groups, check to see if they have special deals for your travel insurance needs. You can sometimes save a substantial amount of money with their discounts.