To Andre--<BR><BR>Thanks for the help. My son is planning to attend a school in Prague that trains and certifies native English speakers as English as a Second Language teachers. After the completion of the training, the center guarantees him a job placement as an English teacher in an Eastern European country. The school has told him that he must have health insurance coverage.

Janeg,<BR>AAA does indeed recommend Acess America, however they wouldn't sell it to me (a AAA member) at their rate unless they booked the trip. Needless to say, I cancelled my membership of 30+ years. Orbitz also sells much cheaper insurance (about1/2 of what you can buy direct) if you book thru them but I knew this going in.

Julies,<BR><BR>Unfortunately, I have next to no knowledge of state medical insurance schemes outside of the EU and Switzerland.<BR><BR>However, you might want to check out BUPA, a large UK-based insurer which specializes in coverage for expatratiates (people living/working outside their home country). Don't have any personal experience with the company, but it has an excellent reputation.<BR><BR>www.bupa-intl.com<BR><BR>Hope this helps,<BR>Andre

Since Medicare does not cover outside US we usually do buy trip insurance. Last October we had to use the trip cancellation aspect because my brother died just a few days before our departure, and since there was a sizeable amount of money involved, we were very glad of the insurance.<BR>We used Access America, and after a bit of confusion regarding paper work, we were reimbursed for the entire cost of the trip.<BR>The cost is based on the age of the travelers and the cost of the travel. We usually buy the comprhensive type, since the cost is worth the peace of mind it provides while we are away.<BR>More information can be found at www.insuremytrip.com which has links to the major carriers.<BR>Hopefully we are off on our delayed trip in May, praying all goes well.

<BR>Heard this news last Sunday on TV:<BR><BR> &quot;If we go to war, travel insurance will not be honored. Please check out the fine print.&quot;<BR><BR>Francie

I am topping this message to get more updates on health insurance as well as starting a new thread.