I will be traveling to Budapest, Prague & Vienna & wondering if I should purchase medical insurance. I don't need to insure the trip cost (used miles for ticket) etc. If there was an emergency, & I needed to be flown home I think travel ins. would be a good thing. Any thoughts ?

Last summer my wife broke her ankle in Sicily. If we did not have the option of staying comfortably in Europe, I imagine that repatriation would have been in order. But from what I heard, there are limits to what the insurance company would consider a medical condition that requires repatriation. I would look at any contract very carefully before buying the insurance.

Unless you current medical insurance covers you for travel abroad then you should always take out medical insurance.

Medical evacuation insurance is sometimes included, sometimes is extra. See is it also includes the cost of taking your body home. Sorry to be pessimistic but transporting a body costs a lot and you wouldn't want to have your loved ones have to deal with all the hassle involved! Been there done that, and that was within the EU.

It is my opinion that an emergency or accident out of this country can be costly.
If you do not have adequate medical insurance for outside the US or if you would have a medical emergency and be required to be evacuated it can be expensive.
I don't think normal doctor visits for a cold, etc would cost that much.
My husband will be on medicare when we go to Italy and our supplemental insurance will not cover him there. We also are using miles for our tickets. I choose to purchase a combination policy for him with some travel expenses and mostly for the medical and the cost is $100.
I feel it is money well spent as he has a pre-existing conditon and we are never sure when he will need emergency treatment.

So for my peace of mind and maybe yours also I would say Yes.

I live in the UK so don't need domestic medical insurance. But even though I get free cover in the EU I always have private travel insurance, including health insurance. The most important reason, as already mentioned, is if you need to be flown home with medical assistance.
Aside of the medical part, it's good to be covered for losing money, baggage, baggage delay, travel delay, damaging cameras etc. etc etcand also to be flown home, if you need to return at short notice. I have an annual policy for myself and my partner which costs about £70 a year (just Europe at the moment) Good for ski holiday cover too!

I've always gotten medical travel insurance, no matter where I go. You just never know.

Doesn't cost much and even tho I've never had to use it, the premium is miniscule compared to peace of mind in case anything were to happen.

I've used http://www.hthtravelinsurance.com/ for the past 3 years - trips to China, Italy, Poland, Netherlands, UK.

From my experience, actual medical costs are usually quite low, and in our case, fully covered by our insurance--minus the co-pay for a doctor's visit, the use of an emergency room (which cost us no more than a night at a hotel) which did not lead to hospitalization, and co-pay on prescriptions. This was true of a 1971 5 day stay in a French hospital as it was for last summer's medical costs (excluded was the rental of a wheelchair).

My wife and I are on Medicare, and while we may have different coverage because of our primary care provider (Kaiser), I believe that Medicare does cover emergency treatment abroad. The traveler has to pay the costs and then submit the paperwork for reimbursement.

I would look more closely at what is covered under a repatriation clause.

As far as I've been able to determine, Medicare provides zero coverage outside the US, so Medicare beneficiaries will have to look at what their supplemental policy covers -- some have foreign coverage, many do not.

Other expenses covered by travel medical insurance could include the cost of having the insured's travel companion companion extend his/her stay (hotel, food, airfare changes, etc.) until the insured can travel safely. I'd definitely go for this coverage, but repatriation from Europe might not be worth the expense since excellent care is available there.

The only way to know what is covered is to read the policy carefully. Opinions expressed on this forum are worth exactly what we pay for them.

1. There's never any need to be "flown home" from Budapest, Prague & Vienna. All three countries have superior - and dramatically cheaper - medical treatment than the OP can find in her own country, unless she's French

2. That's not a political rant: it's how almost EVERY insurance company will judge a case. Almost all medical insurance will pay for the OP's treatment where it's most effectively provided - which, self-evidently is Europe

3. In the case of Czech, having medical insurance is in theory an essential precondition for a non-European to be allowed into the country. In the case of Hungary and Austria it's a screamingly obvious precaution for non-Europeans. It's almost pointless for most Europeans

4. For anyone, there's a real benefit in having insurance that will deal with the travel disruption illness imposes, and repatriates your body if you're dead

3. All Europeans with a valid EHIC card need only insurance for travel disruption and freighting corpses. For almost all non-Europeans, insurance to pay European medical bills is important. But if, in spite of all logic, an American wants to be repatriated the moment she feels sick to a third-world medical system that charges at least twice the going rate in the civilised world, the capitalist system will arrange this.

www.medjets.com is your "friend". "Friend" because it lets you decide what's medically best for you, whatever professionals might say. And, of course, charges you appropriately for your folly.

<i>There's never any need to be "flown home" from Budapest, Prague & Vienna. </i>

Not quite. My wife spent 5 weeks in a cast, at which point a return home would probably be in order, rather than staying stuck in a hotel room.

All your information is VERY helpful ... Thank you

My wife became ill in London last summer and required brief hospitalization and two consults.
Cost was quite reasonable at $8000 but our Blue Cross carrier refused our claim as we did not use the emergency room in London. We went directly to a private consultant. Took a lot of work to get Blue Cross to reimburse us for 70%. I believe it would have been easier with travel insurance. Use DAN coverage for repatriation insurance

Travel insurance is a must. Medicare will usually not pay out of the country, so you will be out a pretty penny. Travel insurance covers the cost of a hotel for the traveling companion (check policy limits), travel insurance pays for the repatriation of remains if you should die out of the country. Most importantly, travel insurance will pay to fly you in an air ambulance to a hospital capable of caring for your condition if you are seriously injured. I never travel without it. Pick you company carefully and check for limits for care..

1. There's never any need to be "flown home" from Budapest, Prague & Vienna. All three countries have superior - and dramatically cheaper - medical treatment than the OP can find in her own country, unless she's French


Not a need, but if you'd have had a bad accident that needs a long hospital stay, you probably don't want to be stuck away from home for weeks/months, in which case, being flown home would be a good thing to be covered for.

I have been quoted a very low premium by Tokio Marine. has anybody used them??????