Health Insurance
 

I am traveling to Ireland in a few weeks. I have Blue Cross/Blue Shield health insurance. Do I need some kind of international health insurance? Is Blue Cross/Blue Shield adequate? Thanks for any help you can give me with this.

Helpful info here: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...an-tourist.cfm

If you are American and coming in on a normal Schengen visa then you do not need to bring proof of insurance.

Since I doubt your Blue Cross/Blue Shield will be accepted, either don't get sick or pay the few bucks for travel insurance.

Call your insurance company. The usual is for emergency coverage only, they define emergency, and there are specific procedures and paperwork needed to get covered/reimbursed. Very serious occurances may require air evacuation, which you will only find with supplemental travel insurance.

Since each policy is different, only your own insurance company can tell you for sure. There are thousands of different Blue Cross policies out there, each with different rules and coverages.

Virtually ever regular health policy covers you when traveling for emergency care. That's all you need unless you are planning to get elective surgery while you are in Ireland. Realize that you will have to pay any medical bills you incur while traveling and then submit paperwork for reimbursement. If that concerns you, buy a travel insurance policy. They are reasonably priced and cover you for health issues abroad as well as travel back home if you need medical evacuation.

The only time you really MUST buy travel health insurance is if you are on Medicare (which does not cover you abroad or on a cruise ship) or if you are on a very restricted HMO plan that offers absolutely no out-of-network care.

But we can't tell you the specifics of your health plan. You need to look that up yourself.

You need to ask your particular health plan, no one on here can tell you. There are hundreds of different BCBS plans in the US. As a matter of fact, many BCBS plans actually do have some networks in Europe, also, I think they are the only major US insurer that does (meaning they will take your card there). Your insurer can tell you, and maybe if you have your plan ID you can use this website which shows you the doctors and hospitals you can go to abroad https://www.bluecardworldwide.com/index.cfm?

Actually, what Doug wrote above is not quite accurate. Medicare does cover people on cruise ships and abroad in some limited circumstance, depending on distance to the US. For example, some hospitals near the border of Canada may be covered by Medicare in emergencies and also, if you are on a cruise ship within a short distance to a US port, you could be covered. It also would cover you in US territories like the VI or Puerto Rico.

Emergency services in a foreign hospital would be covered by Medicare if that hospital were closer to you than a US hospital and you were in the US when the emergency occurred (this could be places near the US border). Services on a ship are also covered by Medicare if it is within 6 hours of when the ship arrived at or departed from a US port.

Just to clear up one thing sparkchaser said. Ireland is not a Schengen country, so a Schengen visa is irrelevant. As a US citizen you wouldn't need one anyway for less than 90 days. For Ireland you can stay 6 months I believe.

If your health insurance covers you you may want to decide whether you need/want insurance to get you home if you are ill or injured.

Thx Doug.. That is interesting. I never realized a standard US health policy would cover emergencies overseas.... Not sure why I didn't know this... For some reason I thought you needed some supplemental policy.

You should check if your plan covers you everywhere. Not that hospitals or MDs will take the card - but that the plan will reimburse you for expenses outside the US. (Strict HMOs plans often don;t cover you outside the US; neither does Medicare. PPO plans usually do - but all are different. You need to check with your provider.)

If not - you may want to consider trip insurance - if it's not too late.

If you decide to get trip insurance, a very good site for comparing policies and prices is
insuremytrip.com.

Thank you so much for such great information. I am so impressed with the generosity of people willing to help a total stranger. I hope that after two weeks, I will be able to repay the kindness I've been shown by offering some comments to people who are looking for input regarding their trip to Ireland.

Just check with YOUR BCBS. They are separate companies and differ by state and region.

If you are old or infirm or have diseases that might require airevac, do be aware of the costs. We saw someone on a stretcher on a regular BA flight from LHR to BOS. They had to buy nine seats (9) for the patient and an attendant nurse. A private jet airevac from Dubrovnik to Washington, DC, cost $70,000. Up front.

Also be aware of any restrictions on those travel policies such as pre-existing conditions, when the policy was purchased, etc.

A little late but I am on Medicare with Medicare supplement by Blue Shield in California. I called my supplement plan and they told me they have a $50,000 lifetime coverage (for medical expenses, not evacuation, natch), but you have to pay out of pocket first and then get reimbursed. I will probably buy travel insurance premium medical insurance (so I won't have to use this benfit), but people should know that if you are Medicare with Medicare supplement, then you will have this kind of coverage. Of course, check with your own plan.

Hi G,

Your BC/BS will cover you.

Call your local office for details.

Enjoy your visit.

((I))

There are many different Medicare supplemental insurance plans, and they don't all cover the same things. Many of them do not cover you abroad. I assume you are referring to Medigap policies. And if you are referring to Advantage plans, they are different also and really have no standardization.

The Medigap plans have standardization by the category of the plan, and some of the plans coverage emergency health services in foreign countries (plans C, D, F, G, M and N), although there are a few states that have their own rules as to what is covered by various Medigap plans (MA, MN and WI). But plans A and B, for example, do not cover foreign travel, even if written by Blue Shield in California. I think MN is one of the few states where you can buy a Medigap plan that covers you for more than emergencies in foreign countries.

I do understand the wish not to over-insure oneself which is behind this query.

but generally, I am bemused by the travelling american's aversion to buying travel insurance. almost everyone in Europe does so, and we have an annual world-wide policy which costs about £120 for the two of us.

this will get us out of virtually every situation you could think of, for a very small % of the cost of the average trip, let alone what we spend in a year on travel, within and outside the UK.

When I sign in to my health insurance's webpage, there is a link for answers to this question. I called them and they offered to send me a letter stating that I was covered to show at any hospital or doctors' offices abroad.

Christina--Blue Shield of California Medigap (i.e., Medicare Supplement) told me on the phone when I called last week that they do cover for medical expenses up to $50,000 lifetime. I think I have the highest level medigap coverage (I pay no co-pays; only caveat is provider must take Medicare). Don't remember what letter that is But--I would have to pay out of pocket and get reimbursed, which is how I assume all Blue Cross/Blue Shield PPOs work for expenses incurred in foreign countries. I'm only talking about MY plan but I read elsewhere on another thread that Medigap plans cover so I checked. In any case, I am getting travel insurance with primary medical so that I do not have to pay out of pocket up front, so it's a moot point for me. Other people should check their own medigap coverage by calling their insurers, obviously.

DebitNM: useful link -- but just FYI - It is an old thread that was topped by a spammer.