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Buying medical travel insurance for my elder parents

Buying medical travel insurance for my elder parents

Old Oct 5th, 2011, 12:08 PM
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yk
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Buying medical travel insurance for my elder parents

We are going to Spain and UK for 10 days. I have looked on insuremytrip. Because my father is >70, it seems like the max medical limit I can buy for him is $100k. [There is one company that offers $250k but the cost is much higher.]

I'm deciding between 2 plans. One is offered by Diplomat Int'l, the other is Liaison Int'l. Both plans are fairly comparable. Both has emergency medical evac up to 300k. One covers pre-existing conditions up to 3 yrs, the other only 1 yr.

My parents are both fairly healthy except for the usual high blood pressure and high cholesterol (all under control). Does either plan seem adequate or should I be looking for something else? Thanks in advance.
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Old Oct 5th, 2011, 12:16 PM
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First they should check to see if Medicare and their supplemental will cover emergency treatment in Europe. Mine does, with the standard co-pay.

If that is the case, I think that medical evacuation is the principal issue. Check under what conditions the insurance will pay for a medical evacuation. I have heard that some coverages do not include medical conditions that can be adequately treated in the country where the medical emergency occurred.
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Old Oct 5th, 2011, 12:30 PM
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They have Medicare only but not supplemental plans
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Old Oct 5th, 2011, 12:51 PM
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Medical insurance for reimbursement for a doctor's visit might still not be necessary. Such visits are relatively cheap (20€ to 28€ in France, and no payment for the emergency room in Sicily) and can be considered out-of-pocket incidentals.
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Old Oct 5th, 2011, 12:55 PM
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Medicare does not pay for any medical care in other countries, not even in emergencies. Supplements usually pay, including transportation to the nearest appropriate facility but not for evacuation.
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Old Oct 5th, 2011, 02:03 PM
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"First they should check to see if Medicare and their supplemental will cover emergency treatment in Europe. Mine does, . . . "

Nope -- maybe your supplemental does. But your Medicare doesn't.

yk: If your parents are in relatively decent health -- I'd be most concerned w/ medivac coverage. Run-of-the-mill treatments are usually inexpensive in Europe so the major medical + 300k for evacuation would be seem to be adequate IMO.
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Old Oct 5th, 2011, 04:30 PM
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Well, I'm over 80, and I never have bought evacuation insurance. My regular insurance covers expenses for medical treatment in an appropriate facility overseas, and I have had to visit a few of these on a couple of my trips. Fine care for a fraction of the cost, IME.

If it is really serious, I really don't want to be hustled back to the States so they can continue to do uncomfortable things to me. My DW has firm instructions to step on my neck if I fall over. At least I will be in Europe and die with a smile on my face and tummy full of pain au chocolat.

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Old Oct 5th, 2011, 04:46 PM
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yk:

I have had insurance from Medjet Assist for a number of years. If the need arises, I can be evacuated to THE HOSPITAL OF MY CHOICE which is an important distinction. By the way, AARP members receive a discount of 18%. I think it is worth a look at least:

www.medjetassist.com
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Old Oct 5th, 2011, 04:55 PM
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Hello yk, I have known of two cases when a traveller became quite ill and each of them had the medjetassist that Weekender posted about. In each case the traveller/patient was flown home and consequently was admitted to the local hospital and had the care of their own physician. Each person lived in the SF Bay Area so they were flown to SFO. I don't know if medjetassist covered the cost of the ambulance to the hospital of their choice but if not no doubt their regular US insurance policy did I would think. Regards, and have a happy and healthy trip with your husband and your parents!
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Old Oct 5th, 2011, 05:55 PM
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Looking at Medjet Assist, it only provides medical evacuation, but doesn't cover any medical treatment while abroad, right? So, even if I get them Medjet assist, I'd still need some sort of coverage for them. [Just thinking of events like one of them fell & broke an arm, or had a concussion, for example.]

The original insurance plans I looked at, provide medical coverage plus some sort of medical evacuation.
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Old Oct 6th, 2011, 02:50 AM
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I like Nukesafe's attitude. A US hospital and your doc are by no means certain to provide better medical care than a doctor and hospital in Europe.

The complication becomes paying for the family to stay in a hotel or apartment until the patient is discharged.
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Old Oct 6th, 2011, 07:11 AM
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The complication becomes paying for the family to stay in a hotel or apartment until the patient is discharged.

The total cost in Europe might be no more than the patient's stay in a U.S. hospital, depending on his insurance coverage. That's why medical tourism exists, although usually to SE Asia.
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Old Oct 6th, 2011, 09:02 AM
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We've had very good experiences with Travelex - http://tinyurl.com/26nrckf
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Old Oct 21st, 2011, 07:01 AM
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Hi yk. I had saved a link from the Asia board from last year that offers a lot of great information on trip insurance. I'm sure the information is still mostly relevant.

http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...e-169668-2.cfm
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Old Oct 21st, 2011, 09:52 AM
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Medicare does NOT pay outside the US. A supplemental might.
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Old Oct 21st, 2011, 11:26 AM
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Actually, Medicare does pay outside the US in some unusual circumstance, but that won't help in Europe. It will if the closest emergency facility that can treat you is a foreign country and you are in the US (ie, near Canadian border) and in some other conditions if you are traveling between Alaska and the continental states and have an emergency in Canada. I also think there are some exceptions for cruise ships if you are no more than 6 hours from the US port.

And some Medicare Advantage plans may cover it also, and that isn't a supplemental, they can cover things other than what basic fee-for-service Medicare covers.
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Old Nov 9th, 2011, 03:56 AM
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I'm trying to sort out travel www.hdfclife.com insurance for my parents who will be travelling to south africa in december for a family wedding and then doing a short 3 night stopover in dubai on the way back.but unfortunately I cant find anything less than £900this could be because of their age (dad :74, Mum :63) and they both have medical conditions (nothing serious just asthma and high blood pressure - both of which are controlled by medication)can anyone suggest where I could possibly find anything cheaper?
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Old Nov 9th, 2011, 04:54 AM
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First, the medical care they might require and obtain in Europe might surpass what they would have here in the US. And for practically nothing if they had to pay out of pocket. Not suggesting that. Just saying.
The need for medical evacuation and trip interruption can be an important factor and should be looked at.
I think med evacuation is more important when travelling to "third world healthcare countries" than Europe. I would definitely want it for Asia. The limits you are quoting are quite catastrophic, which I realize is what insurance is for, but......
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Old Nov 9th, 2011, 07:13 AM
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"And for practically nothing if they had to pay out of pocket."

Very rarely true. There's a limit to our charity. And giving Americans free treatment far exceeds that limit.

Details vary hugely between countries and often between facilities. But just about everywhere in Europe charges non-resident non-Europeans for fully fledged treatment involving stays in hospital (though admittedly at rates reflecting the superior productivity of European medical systems over some countries I won't mention).

Most European countries (though not, in yk's case, the UK) also expect patients to pay even for emergency treatment.

But, since they can't predict what medical problems they're likely to run into, non-Europeans coming here without insurance are running a very foolish risk.
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Old Nov 9th, 2011, 08:17 AM
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We didn't bother getting travel or medevac insurance for my dad when he and I went to Ireland (he was 81 at the time), but since he was born there, they seem to be willing to claim him for that purpose (at any rate they picked up a Swedish hospital bill in the early 80's, which probably would have been covered by his US health insurance). We were operating under the assumption that if something happened, Irish hospitals are perfectly adequate, and there's nothing wrong with the churchyard that his father and grandparents are in.

I should also mention that he didn't announce until we were on the plane that he hadn't bothered to tell his doctor that he was planning to take a six hour flight, so there may be a certain lack of caution there. A modest amount of health insurance, and evacuation insurance if you do not wish to spend months in a European hospital, and/or be buried there, might be in order.
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