Geoff

I am planning a three week trip to NY and New England in January.
I have been advised that i need to purchase medical insurance to the value of one million dollars? Can this be true?
How much can medical care in the states actually cost. I know we don't pay over here (at the point of delivery) so I'm probably way out of touch but I just can't imagine any medical procedure costing a million dollars!!
Advice please.....

gail

Check and see what policies use as range of coverages - a million dollars may just be the type of policy offered, even though it is unlikely you would use that much coverage.

As far as what things cost - a day in the hospital can be around $1,000 - without any of the inevitable add-ons (medication, MD visits, etc. - that is just the bed). A visit to the doctor for a physical exam is $200-500 - I know you are not getting a check-up while you are here, just trying to give you an idea of what things cost.

Now, how could you spend that amount of money? Not to be morbid, but if you get hit by a car, require extensive surgery, hospitalization, including Intensive Care, rehabilitation, and all associated costs, you could certainly spend that much. The chances of this happening - not great, but that is what insurance is all about anyway. The company is betting you stay healthy, you are covering in case you don't.

I have no idea what happens to foreign visitors without insurance who require care. When I travel, an important kind of insurance to have is one that will air-ambulance me back home should I require it. Make sure you have something like that.

Now that I may have totally depressed you and possibly ruined your trip - enjoy our country!

BD

Geoff,
A few years ago, a friend of ours from London was staying with us in NJ. She had an appendicitis attack the day she was due to leave to go back to London.
She had taken out travel insurance in London, it cost her about 40-50 pounds/dollars(I am not sure on that).
She had to stay in the hospital for about 5 days, she had top surgeons working on her, private room and excellent care. She was also able to change her flight without penalty,flying home on Virgin.
All of this was taken care of by her Travel Insurance. So my advice is do lots of research at home..there is something that will fit the bill for you.
While US medical care is expensive, I have not heard that the usual costs are anywhere near the million dollar mark, maybe that is for life insurance?
Good luck.

def.mustdo

Just be careful to read the fine print as many of these policies do not cover "preexisting conditions". As the above poster mentioned medical treatment is quite expensive w/o insurance. A heart attack procedure costs between 35-50k here! That's for the surgery alone = )

travellyn

If you had a minor accident of some sort, treatment would probably less than $500. Most drivers and places of business also have their own liability insurance. The one-million-dollar hospital bills are those where there's some sort of terrible accident or illness, followed by 6-12 months in the hospital; $100,000 should cover just about anything else. That said, my guess is that there isn't much cost difference between various maximum levels of coverage, more in the deductible, so you might as well get the million.

As an example of costs, my parents just got back from a European river cruise in which a woman fell in the shower, breaking some teeth, her jaw and one arm. I think her treatment in the USA would have been in the $10,000-$20,000 range.

Wanda

The million dollars is a million dollar cap, meaning it will cover procedures up to one million dollars and after that your insurance is no more. Most medical insurance coverage here in the USA has that amount of cap. Whoever advised you to the value of one million dollars surely did not mean some sort of medical emergency would cost that much, just as I stated it is only a cap that the insurance company will pay up to and that is all. Hope this clarifies matters for you. Enjoy your trip.

Shivering

Most Americans are pretty clueless about "list price" for medical care, because we never see it, but that is what you would be charged. As previous posters have stated, cost will depend on what services you need. Catastrophic situations can easily run up to $1 million over time. Less severe situations would be much less, but nothing in US health care is cheap.
An important thing to verify before departure is what - if any - coverage you have through NHS or any other polcy while you are traveling outside your country. If you deem it inadequate, and if you have some chronic condition which may exacerbate or are otherwise at risk, go for the higher coverage.

x

in the hospital for 6 days with a bad case of pneumonia - $17,000

Ruth

I don't think you can buy travel insurance with less than $1 million medical cover - it is just a number as previous posters have said, and I haven't found that the exact amount of cover makes much difference to the premium (most claims are for luggage or cancellations after all).

I heard a couple of years ago that the payout on a medical travel insurance policy has never exceeded $200,000. So they can say $1 million, or $5 million, or whatever, on their advertising without the slightest risk that they might have to pay out that much. I expect they will manage to get you back into the arms of the NHS for a few thousand dollars, should you need it. But don't skimp on medical or personal liability insurance - you don't want to find yourself underinsured on either of these.

Geoff

Thanks for the kind responses. I always intended to get cover but was surprised to see I'd be paying for what I took to be excessively generous/comprehensive amounts.
Seems its just run of the mill on your side of the pond! (I mean, X - $17,000 for six days?! were you in hospital or the Waldorf Astoria?!)
Anyway thanks for the feedback and I guess I'll cough-up the going rate whilst, of course, assuming that nothing will go wrong anyway.

Cheers!

Rachel

I know medical care is expensive in the US, but have to say I prefer this to the UK, where waiting lists have gotten out of control. One cousin spent 18 months on the waiting list for surgery to repair his ACL. At 27, he now walks with a permanent limp. I had a similar injury, was operated on quickly, and returned to playing sports following my rehab. Also have a friend from the UK with MS. She was diagnosed with MS while living in the US. A year earlier, she had gone to her GP in the UK with the same symptoms. Was told it was a virus, and given an antibiotic. Now she's on medication that completely controls her symptoms. However, she learned that she cannot get that same medication through the NHS. And as it costs about $20,000 a year, she can never live back in the UK. Sad.